Devotio
by Lailuh
Summary: The world used to be a simplistic place but has since plunged into chaos. The M-Gene, found in the 24th chromosome, giving people the ability to control elements or each other at a word. The government wants to harness that power for their own selfish needs but there are some that will stand and fight against it.
1. Chapter 1

**Aaaaah well it's been quite a long time hasn't it? I hope everyone has been well. So I finally got an idea of what to do to make this work, plus I have writer's block for two other stories I'm writing, so why not start this one? As usual, it's Echizen centric and yeah Ryoga's gonna be in there somewhere. I might add another school into it but not for a few chapters so until then, tell me what school you'd like to see.**

 **Also I told myself I wasn't going to post this until I was completely done but we see how that turned out. Expect at most weekly updates and at least monthly but I've got quite a bit done already so the next chapter will probably be out next week or sooner depending on if I get the next chapter done.**

 **I'm trying a new style of writing so it'll be a bit different from previous stories but it should still be good, hopefully.**

 **I don't own Prince of Tennis blah blah blah.**

 **Okay here's chapter one. Enjoy!**

* * *

People say it was like the purge; that perhaps being the one thing everyone can solely agree on nowadays. Some will say it was for the best, ridding the world of those that were born different, and going back to how it was when time first began, while other argued that it's the time to embrace the future and really see what the world had to offer. That was back when the world was still at peace with itself, but time had passed and everything had changed.

The human genome is stored on 23 chromosome pairs. 22 of these are autosomal chromosome pairs, while the remaining pair is sex-determining, but there were some that were born with an extra pair. No one knows where it first originated but those born with the extra pair were born with a certain gene that gave the spectacular powers; powers that let you control fire and ice, levitate something with a mere though, conjure animals, control shadows , and even bring back the dead. They decided to call it the _M-Gene._

Scientists have been studying, trying to figure out why only some are born with the gene but nothing has been found. The only thing that was remotely useful that they figured out was no two people in the same family had powers and the gene was more commonly found in male genome.

Since discovering new abilities that came with the gene, the people of the world had been forced to choose sides- support the gene and further explore what it is able to do, or try to put a stop to it.

The government had issued that all people born with the M-Gene be taken into custody to have tests performed and figure out why they had been born with it. Parents were taken from their children, new borns were held at the hospitals. Families were ripped apart. The organization in charge of the operation was called _Chargarde._ They had scientists doing everything in their power to decipher where the first gene originated and how they could stop it from being passed on to another generation.

Chargarde would have agents going house to house and taking the people with the M-Gene; day, night, it made no difference to them but the people that were taken usually weren't seen again. They had headquarters set up around the world and since it was mainly government funded, they had ties to hospitals so they would know the minute a child with the M-Gene was born.

But there was a change. People rallied against Chargarde and soon _Cardinal_ was a name known around the world. They had also set up bases throughout to counteract Chargarde and get to the families first. It was a group composed of those who wouldn't idly stand by and watch as their friends and family were taken from them.

Years past and the world began to fall into ruins; schools were closed, food stores running low and not being restocked, places getting looted. It seemed like one of those cheesy movies about the apocalypse but that's how it turned out. People were scattered across the globe, doing all they could to escape both Chargarde and Cardinal. There were some that even sought them out in means to help stop the war but all that came was more.

It wasn't until many years later that everyone truly began to see the toll the world has taken. The population was decreased significantly. Most of the remaining civilians were captured by Chargarde in means to bring out family members who had allied with Cardinal then capture them as well. There were still groups here and there of people who had managed to elude both groups; though it was a lot easier said than done.

Though there was a group of people that could stop it; a special forces group among the Japanese Division of Cardinal. They had taken on the task of finding a teenage boy, no older than 16, who had been born with the M-Gene. Normally they wouldn't risk it but he was the second child in the family to be born with it which likely made him not only a high target for them but also for Chargarde. It had been the only known incident in history that someone within the same immediate family had been born with the gene.

So they ventured out to the last place he and his older brother had been seen, somewhere in the central district of Tokyo. They just hoped that they would be able to get to them first.

The world has fallen into chaos; a storybook battle of good against evil, right against wrong. And it was time to choose a side.

* * *

 **Bleh that was really weird to write. I guess it's a prologue. Next chapter will be completely back to normal.**

 **Sooo yes? Something like this has always lingered in the back of my mind but seeing as it's not the same characters the plot is a little more difficult to write but, meh, whatcha gonna do?**

 **Thank you so much for reading. I'll try to have the next chapter out soon and figure out where to go from there.**

 **Please forgive spelling and grammar and stupidness and weirdness and corniness and just the overall feeling of wow this was weird.**

 **Hope ya liked it! See ya later!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Aaand here we are. To be perfectly honest I started writing this chapter like a week after the first one but the way I'm publishing it will make it seem like I was actually productive and did this on time. Ahahaha the power of the internet.**

 **Okay so just so everyone understands, the world is currently in a dystopian state; you're lucky if you find suitable dirt for growing food, almost no working cars because no gas, same with electricity, kiiinda like walking dead but there's still a large number of people living in broken down houses and they're just trying to stay under Chargarde's radar or whatnot. If you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll try to clear them up.**

 **So I hope you guys liked the first one. This is probably going to be one of the longer stories I do and then a long break between the next or whatnot.**

 **I still dun own Prince of Tennis.**

 **Here's chapter two. Enjoy!**

* * *

"They ran this way. Spread out and find them. The boss wants them _alive._ Only open fire if your life is in danger but _do not_ under any circumstances fire to kill. If you find them, do not attempt to apprehend them on your own. Contact a member of your group. Move out."

The two people the Chargarde Soldiers were looking for were currently watching from a nearby rooftop, trying to catch their breath.

"I told you that was a trap, but _no_. You just had to test your luck and now, I doubt we can get two blocks without alerting them." The younger one said in a spiteful tone. "I can't believe you still don't understand that if it looks too good to be true then it probably is."

"Well excuse me for trying to be optimistic about things right now." The older one spat back. "One of us has to hope for the best and that usually fall to the one that still has hope left."

"What's there left to hope for?" The younger one almost shouted. He sighed and looked at the broken city around them. "Look at the world we live in. There's no hope out there."

The older one rubbed his head. "It may not look like it but there were still people who hope the world can go back to what it once was. Remember a few days back when we lead those soldiers away from a completely defenseless group? Remember how that was your idea? You're the one giving people hope. You can change the world if you try."

"Che. It was just time to leave and those soldiers just happened to follow us because we're wanted like criminals. You make it sound like I'm some sort of savior in a cheesy Hollywood movie. If it was that simple, someone else could've done it years ago before it fell this far into disarray."

"You're always so negative. I can't believe you're my brother, Chibisuke." The older one smirked and threw an arm over his brother.

"And you're so positive, Ryoga." Echizen returned his brother's smirk with one of his own. "Well, you got us into this. What are we going to do; how are we going to get away without them noticing?"

Ryoga scratched his head then grinned. " _Gelus Spaera."_ He flicked his hand, palm up and a small ball of ice appeared. "Snowball fight?"

Echizen raised an eyebrow. "You think that's going to do the job?"

He started bouncing the snow in his hand. "Come on Chibisuke, have a little faith."

* * *

"Sector Three clear."

"Sector Five clear."

"Sector Four clear."

The radios of the soldiers sounded as they reported in. There was no sign of the brothers, or anyone for that matter. The streets were bare and the only noise was the clank of their boots.

"Shubou-sama will be very angry if we don't find them." Red One said. "Keep searching. We might as well not even go back if we can't apprehend two te-" A snowball hit him in the back of the head. "Gah."

"Sir." Red Six ran over to him. "Sectors One, Two, Six, Eight, Seven, and Nine have all reported being hit with a snowball."

"They're not the only ones soldier." He wiped the snow from his head and pulled out his radio. "Regroup in Sector Five. We'll devise a new plan of attack." The group of soldiers all met as ordered after a few minutes. Red One pulled out a map with the city on it. "These Sectors Three, Four, and Five are clear while the others seem to have activity in them. Seeing we're looking for two teenage boys who both possess the M-Gene, it's highly likely that they're able to set up a trick like that."

"The one with M-Ice must be powerful." Red Two said. "No one would be capable of going from Two to Six that fast."

"What about M-Speed?" Red Three asked. "Surely he could've run-"

"Neither target is classified as having M-Speed." Red Five said.

"Well how do you exp-" Suddenly a snowball hit him in the face.

The group looked around, trying to find the point where it came from but there was none. "Sir, may I make a speculation?" Red Seven asked. Red One nodded. A snowball pelted another Soldier in the face. "It seems that the older one, the one that possessed M-Ice, has some power."

"I know that soldier that's why we're looking for them." Red One answered, annoyed. Another snowball hit someone. The group kept looking around while they talked but couldn't see where the snowballs were coming from.

"Sir I don't think you understand what I'm trying to say."

"Well then _explain it."_ Red One got hit with another snowball.

"Sir in the time we've been talking, the ground has gotten icy." The group looked down to see that the ground beneath them had indeed gotten coated in ice and was slowly growing outward. "Also we can't seem to pinpoint where the snowballs are coming from because there is no specific point. There's no possible way for Three to get hit in the face while Eight got hit in the back of the head."

"What are you getting at?"

"What's I'm trying to say is, they set up a trap, and we fell for it." Just as Seven finished, snowballs started pelting them from every direction. While trying to shield themselves from the assault, they kept bumping into each other and seeing the ground was slippery, they fell and once they did, they couldn't get back up and the snowballs never stopped.

The two brothers looked on from behind a building down the street. "I can't believe that actually worked."

"I told you Chibisuke, have a little faith." Ryoga smiled. "Now come on. We need to get out of here if we actually want to make progress."

"Do we even have a destination?" Echizen asked as the two of them began going down the street.

"Well do you want to stay here and figure it out or do it on the way? We _do_ have a destination though; it's just a matter of getting there."

"What?" Echizen stopped.

Ryoga turned to his brother. "Did you honestly think we were just going to wonder around until we were caught by someone?"

"Yes! Because that's usually how your stupid ideas work! Are you at least going to tell me where we're going?"

Ryoga shrugged his shoulders and started walking again. "Nope."

* * *

"Mou, why couldn't we have gotten the transport to get us closer? Why do we have to walk?"

"The carrier would have most likely not gone undetected on enemy radar and our targets probably wouldn't know the difference between a Chargarde and Cardinal ship anyways. This is the most suitable way to approach the situation."

"You're also getting fat. Exercising for once in your life would do you some good."

"What did you say to me you snake-faced bastard?"

"Did you lose your hearing too, you dumbass peach?"

"There they go again, but it is entertaining. Don't you agree, Tezuka?"

Tezuka turned to the two arguing. "Momoshiro, Kaidou, I take it from your bickering that you'd like extra training so you won't have enough energy to run your mouths."

"No sir!" The two of them went silent.

"Ne Oishi, why do you think the two of them do nothing but argue wherever we go?" Kikumaru asked.

"That's just the kind of relationship they have with each other." Oishi sighed.

"We're not in a relationship!" The two of them yelled. "Stop copying me!"

"Maa, maa, we're all friends here…"

"Both of you be quiet or you're going to run drills when we get back." Tezuka ordered. His radio went off. "Yes?"

" _Have you made contact with the targets yet?"_ The voice on the other end was that of an older woman.

"Not yet. We've just reached the city borders and are heading in now."

" _Get in there fast. There's been a massive spike of magic energy and your team needs to get to it before Chargarde does."_

Tezuka gestured for everyone to move faster and started jogging. "How long ago did the spike happen?"

" _There was one twenty-three minutes ago and a second started seven and has yet to decrease in power."_

"Were we able to pinpoint the location it was coming from?"

" _From your location, go east for three blocks. If you can't tell where it's coming from when you get there then we have serious visual issues. Find the boys and bring them back safe."_

"Ryoukai." The line went silent and the group picked up their pace. They went east for about three blocks when they started seeing a golden glow around the general area. They kept moving to find the source and as the rounded a corner, they saw a bright, golden, yet opaque sphere with two people inside of it; one standing and seemingly keeping it up and the other laying on the ground, while the sphere was surrounded by eight or nine other soldiers.

"Looks like we found our target." Fuji said. "The group surrounded them look like Chargarde Soldiers. What do you suggest we do?"

"We can take them." Momo said as he readies his gun. "One for each of us."

"We need to secure the targets first." Kawamura noted. "It'll probably send them into a panic if they see more soldiers coming to surround them."

The sound of a gun being fired made them all duck behind a building. When they peeked out, they realized the shot hadn't been at them but it was at the shield between the brothers and the soldiers.

"So, what? They're taking pop-shots to see if they can break through?" Kaidou hissed.

"We don't know how long he'll be able to keep that shield up though; not to mention the one on the ground hasn't moved since we saw them." Kikumaru pointed out. "He's probably hurt."

"If he is, we need to get to them now." Oishi said.

The group went into a huddle and Tezuka spoke. "We need to assure the two of them that we're not here to hurt them. Momoshiro and Kaidou, you two will cause a distraction to get a few soldiers away from them. Inui, I want you on a nearby roof with your sights locked in on them. Fuji you talk to-" then there was a loud crash and the sky lit up.

They looked back around the building and saw a lightning bolt had struck the top of the sphere. They half expected the shield to drop and the boy holding it in place to keel over but he didn't waver. Instead bolts of electricity shot out of the shield in every direction, hitting the Chargarde soldiers and everything around them.

"Bring that shield down!" They could barely Red One shout over buzzing and strike of the lightning. "Open fire!" The soldiers started firing but the shield didn't falter, if anything it just made the one holding the shield up angry.

Several more bolts shot out at the soldiers, knocking them away on impact. When they tried to get back up, more bolts knocked them right back down again. It seemed to go on for several minutes, getting knocked down, getting up then being knocked down once more until they seemed to stop moving entirely. The group watched, waited for the electricity and shield to die down so they could approach but it didn't.

"Fuji," Tezuka spoke. "See if you can calm him down. He's going to exhaust himself if this goes on any longer."

"I'm surprised he hasn't already." Momo said. "Considering he's so short."

Fuji carefully and slowly walked towards the sphere. "Echizen- Ryoma?" The boy in question turned to face him, which also made the bolts strike close to him. "You're Echizen Ryoma right? My name is Fuji Shuusuke. I'm a part of Cardinal's Tokyo division. My team and I have been sent to escort you back to base." He gestured to the seven others that were hiding behind a building. He nodded at the person on the ground and noticed the small pool of blood under his torso. "That's your brother right? Ryoga? If he's injured, we have a Medic with us that knows healing magic-" A bolt went straight for him but he jumped and dodged.

"Doesn't look like he's having too much success." Kawamura said as the group rounded the corner to join Fuji.

"We're just another threat to him." Inui said. "If worst comes to worst we might have to use force to bring that shield down."

"That is an absolute last resort." Tezuka said.

"I'm against violence but if that's the quickest way to settle it, I think that's the route we should take." Oishi said.

They reached Fuji, who was outside the lightning range. "His brother's been hit somewhere on his torso but I don't think that wall is coming down anytime soon. Being able to use both an offensive and defensive technique like that requires a mass amount of concentration and energy and it doesn't seem to be affecting him at all."

"I can get him to take it down." Momo said nonchalantly.

"When did you become chief negotiator?" Kaidou scoffed.

"I'm serious. He's a scared kid and we look like big, bad government officials here to capture him." He looked at Tezuka. "Let me talk to him." Tezuka nodded. Momo then gave his gun to Kikumaru and took off his protective gear.

"Oi kid." Momo raised his hands and started walking towards Echizen. He didn't so much as flinch as a bolt struck next to him. "Echizen Ryoma right? I'm Momoshiro Takeshi but you can call me Momo-chan." He kept advancing with his hands up as more bolts struck close to him. "We were sent to get you and your brother and bring you back to a Cardinal outpost. I understand that you're scared but I can assure you we're here to help. You two have been on the run from Chargarde right, for two- going on three years about? You must be tired and hungry; come with us and we can get you provided for."

"It doesn't look like it's having any effect." Kikumaru said.

"I'm amazed you can do that; offensive and defensive magic at the same time. I was also born with the M-Gene but it goes more along with the earth rather than electricity. Want to see what I can do?" Echizen gave the smallest movement of a nod which made Momo smile. "Alright then." He kept his hands up and said, " _Fimum Ecfigia."_ Dirt and rubble started to come together to Momo's right. After a few seconds, a statue of him, flexing, was standing next to him. "Feels like it's missing something-" He slowly brought his hand to its head. _"Glisco Floreo."_ Flowers started popping up from the head.

The lightning had basically stopped but the wall was still standing tall. "I can't believe he's actually doing it." Kaidou said, impressed.

"Pretty cool huh? It's nothing compared to you but it's something. If you come with us you can meet more people like us and more about your power." The lightning had completely stopped and Momo was standing just outside of the shield. He lowered his tone to speak. "Your brother was injured while trying to escape from Chargarde. If you stay like this then he won't last more than two days without proper treatment. You tried protecting him from their soldiers and you did but you're both safe now. We're not here to hurt you. We can keep you safe from Chargarde so something like this doesn't happen again. Wanna make it easy on everyone and come with us?"

Echizen smirked and the shield started to disintegrate.

"He actually did it. I don't believe it." Fuji said as the group started walking up to the both of them.

"Momoshiro-san right?" Echizen's voice was barely above a whisper. Momo was surprised to hear the boy address him but nonetheless listened. "You're power- it's stupid." That being said, he dropped to his knees and collapsed next to his brother.

Momo was confused at first but when it clicked he started yelling in an annoyed tone. "Haa? What are you talking about? Oi don't just say that then pass out! Wake up! You brat how dare you say something like that!"

"Calm down Momo." Kawamura said as he placed a hand on Momo's shoulder. Oishi and Inui were checking on the two boys lying on the ground while Kikumaru and Kaidou were gathering the fallen Chargarde soldiers.

"No way, he called my powers stupid!" Momo's arms were flailing and pointed at the statue. "This is a work of art! How can he call this stupid?"

"Because it is." Kaidou called out. "Anyone would call it stupid if they saw this as a first impression."

"At least _I_ can create tangible things and not some stupid holographic snake."

"At least the things I conjure are pleasing to the eye _."_

Oishi's voice broke through the fighting. "Tezuka, call in an airlift. I can't do much here but stop the bleeding and I don't see an exit wound so the bullet is most likely still in there."

Tezuka nodded. "What about the younger one?"

"He has no physical wounds and just seems to be exhausted from using that much power all at once." Inui answered.

Tezuka pulled out his radio. "This is Special Forces Leader Tezuka calling Seigaku Outpost One requesting airlift from our location. We have wounded."

" _Roger that SF. We have tracked your location and are sending a pickup. ETA for about eleven minutes."_

"A chopper's on its way." Tezuka informed the others though he doubted anyone could hear him through Momo and Kaidou's yelling. "You two will be running double drills when we return to base."

"What?! The snake was the one that started it!"

"Don't try to pin this on me you stupid peach. You're the one crying about your stupid statue."

"Would you like to try for triple?"

"No sir!"

* * *

 **Aaaaaaah look at all the angst right here in this chapter oh my god.**

 **I enjoyed writing that. I really did. Reading through it, I thought Momo was a little ooc but I always feel that his character is good at calming younger kids down since he's the oldest in like four or five kids.**

 **For the spells that will be used, it's straight up Latin. Like I googled a word I wanted and picked out the one I liked from translations or whatnot. That's as complicated as it's gonna get.**

 **If anyone knows proper military lingo they wanna share I'll happily accept it.**

 **Please forgive spelling and grammar and stupidness and laziness and corniness and the amount of angst and aaaaaaaaaaaaah.**

 **Hope ya liked it. See ya later!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Eeeeeh and through the power of the internet here is the next chapter, completely on time. Not like I waited a week** _ **or longer**_ **to start writing again. I'm trying to keep on the same pace as the original but rewriting the storyline will take waaaay too long so I'm just gonna write this and hope for the best.**

 **Okay so I've decided to try and make it weekly updates to keep everyone happy. Please don't hate me if it goes on longer.  
**

 **Here's chapter three. Enjoy!**

* * *

There was a sound of footsteps around him. That was the first thing Echizen noticed as he slowly woke up. He stared at his surroundings: he was in a room- no, not a room but a tent. He was on a cot on one side and a second on the other side with a dully lit light on a beaten up crate between them. He sat up on the makeshift bed and his mind flashed back to before he collapsed; running from Chargarde, Ryoga getting shot in the side, his powers going berserk, and finally getting in contact with people of Cardinal. That's probably where he was; a Cardinal base somewhere.

He swung his legs over the bed and stood up but instantly regretted it and sat back on the cot. His head was spinning and he felt sick, though that's to be expected after exerting as much energy has he did. As he composed himself, he noticed the tent flap move. He expected a person to come in but was surprised when a cat walked in. He watched as it hopped on his cot and watched him. Confused as to why the cat was there, he started to get up but before he could, the cat crawled onto his lap and went to sleep. He sweat dropped, not understanding why there was a cat there in the first place.

The flap to his tent moved once more. A boy about his age was standing on the other side. "Ah. You're awake." His hair was weirdly parted and mostly sticking up at the right. "I'll be tending to you while you're here. Don't worry about anything. I've been here for two years so I pretty much know the ropes." There was something in his tone that Echizen found annoying. "My name's Horio. Captain wanted to see you once you woke up."

"Where am I?" The standard question anyone would ask. "Where's my brother?"

"You're in a Cardinal Camp on the outskirts of Tokyo. As for your brother, he's in the infirmary." Horio gestured for him to follow as he opened the tent. It was brighter out than he expected. "I'll take you to him after we see the captain."

Echizen sighed. That was probably as good as it was going to get. He picked the cat up from his lap and started to follow Horio when he noticed surprised look on his face. "What?"

"How are you- never mind..." He lead Echizen from the tent and when they went out, Echizen was surprised, to say, that it was an actual camp. He expected it to be in a building of some sort but it was just a bunch of heavy duty tents everywhere. They passed what looked like a training ground for both magic and non-magic users. He saw magic users forming weapons with their element and fighting others.

"Why is everyone staring at me?" Echizen had noticed, while they were walking through the camp, everyone's eyes seemed to fall to him. It wasn't the kind of look that said 'so that's who that is' but one laced with confusing.

"Well you _are_ the most important person here right now." Horio stated, not hiding the blatant obviousness in his tone. "Here we are." The two of them stopped outside of a rather large tent. "Captain, I have brought him as you've requested." He spoke into the tent. There was a voice from inside and Horio gestured for him to enter.

As he entered the tent, he was met by five pairs of eyes. "Echizen Ryoma." Echizen looked at the man who addressed him; tall, dirty blond hair, muscular build, had glasses. "My name is Tezuka Kunimitsu. I'm the leader of a Cardinal Special Forces Unit. Yesterday we found you and your brother near the central Tokyo district after you had a run in with Chargarde soldiers. Do you remember?"

Echizen slowly nodded.

"You may have already guessed but you're wanted because you're the only case where a second child of a family has been born with the M-Gene. I can assure you that as long as you're here, you'll be safe from Chargarde. Do you have any questions?"

"Where's my brother?" Though he pretty much already knew the answer.

"He's being treated for his wound in the infirmary." His question was answered by, the brunet that had first approached him when they met on the street. "Don't worry. He have the finest doctors and heals you can find nowadays. You'll be able to see him soon." Echizen nodded, satisfied with the answer.

"I have a question for the kid." This time, it was- Momoshiro, the one with the stupid power, who voiced up. "How are you doing that?"

Echizen raised an eyebrow. "Doing what?"

Momo gestured to the cat. "That. Holding the cat."

"With my- arms?" He moved his arms for emphasis. He looked towards the one standing towards the corner with a bandana on his head. "Is he stupid?"

Momo frowned while Bandana smirked. "I like this kid."

There was a red head who was also laughing. "No Ochibi, he means how are you holding him if he's a hologram?"

"What are you talking about?" Echizen was beyond confused.

"That's one of Kaidou's scouts." Echizen recalled the brunet's name was Fuji. "He has the M-Gene for conjugation and that cat is a hologram that's used to patrol the camp and reports if anything is amiss. The only one that could actually touch him is Kaidou."

Kikumaru held out his hands. "Come here." The cat jumped out of Echizen's arms and ran towards the red head. Much to his surprise, the cat went right through Kikumaru's arms, and body, and jumped into Kaidou's instead. "See?"

 _So that's why everyone was looking at us._ Echizen thought. "Well what happens now?" He asked getting back on the original topic. "What are we doing here?"

"You and your brother were brought here for your own protection." Tezuka answered. "We know you've been chased by Chargarde for a long time and I can assure you our requests are a lot kinder than theirs." Echizen raised his eyebrow. "We'd appreciate it if you and your brother would aid us in taking down the central power of Chargarde."

"What's so difficult about it? Haven't you taken down others before?" Echizen asked.

"Their camps yes, but nothing like what they have there." Fuji answered. "The camps are much like ours, and we've been able to take the out of commission rather easily but the central power is a massive facility, larger than what we've taken down before and what they do in there is horrifying."

"What do you mean?" The feel of the room went ridged. Echizen looked around for someone to clarify what Fuji meant by _horrifying_ but they all averted their eyes. "You've- been inside it before, right?"

"We were finally able to find the location of where it was." Momo answered, still looking away. "We figured it would be best if we knew what we were up against first before going in head first."

"One of my scouts went in." Kaidou butted in. "It looked relatively normal at first; entrance hall, training rooms, bedrooms, and lab. When my scout got to the lower levels- there were rooms, filled with cages of people, all assumed to have the M-Gene. They looked ready to die and probably would've preferred it. There were also several more lab rooms that looked like they'd never been cleaned."

"There was so much blood." Kikumaru commented, sitting in his chair with his arms resting on his knees, head in his hands, glaring at the wall. "They were performing experiments on people, trying to see if they could essentially draw the M-Gene out of their DNA or put another one in." He let his head droop. "The surge of power that was implanted into them was too much for them to handle and all of them ended up dying."

Echizen stood there wide eyed. Chargarde was after them because they basically had more power than the others. A surge of fear and panic ran through him. What would've happened if they were caught? "And… what about those who had the gene removed?" His voice was low.

"They also died." Tezuka answered. "We don't know the actual cause but we think it was because of the sudden lack of power moving through their bodies and they went into shock, most likely cardiac arrest."

"We only know this because they've since moved to a new location." Fuji frowned. "They left nothing salvageable; the hard copies of lab reports were burned and the computers were fried. It took some time but we found a computer and were able to get the information off of it before it crashed completely."

The room was silent; the five older males were glaring into the ground while Echizen just stood trying to process what he had been told. Never would he have thought of something so horrific happening to people, by their own government no doubt. He had some idea that they would perform tests on the people that got taken away but never go as far as to killing them.

"This is your decision." Tezuka said in a low voice. "You may have some time to think it over."

Echizen hair drooped in front of his eyes. "When can I see my brother?"

"Oi Horio." Momo called outside. Horio popped his head into the tent. "Take the kid to the med tent. Let him see his brother."

"Hai!" He held open the tent and Echizen walked out. "Don't worry. Your brother's probably already fine and walking around." Horio's voice echoed outside as the two started to walk away.

"Do you think we went too far in telling him all of it?" Kikumaru voiced to the tent. "What if he refuses?"

"It's better for him to refuse now so we can solidify a stratagem that doesn't include him rather than think of one that includes him now and have it be completely useless later when he does." Kaidou answered. He flicked his hand towards the tent flap and the cat went running out.

"In all honesty, we can't afford to have him refuse. We don't have the power to take Chargarde down right now." Fuji said. "We might have to persuade him."

"We'll give them two days." Tezuka sighed. "That's all we can afford to spare before we have to start moving. If they haven't decided or reject the offer, we'll just have to go at Chargarde with all the power we've got and hope for the best."

* * *

Echizen walked silently through the camp, playing everything over and over in his head. Horio was blabbing on about his training for the past two years and how he was one of the best fighters their unit had. He also talked about the people that had been born with the M-Gene and how they worked around the camp.

"One of the self-proclaimed big-shots here is Arai Massashi. He was born with M-Water and thinks that just because he's beaten everyone he's faced in combat, he's the best fighter that we have here-" Horio huffed. "But he's basically all words. He can't compete with the Seigaku Special Force and not all of them even have the M-Gene to begin with."

Echizen tore his mind away from the thought of the Chargarde camp. "What do you mean they don't all have it?"

"You didn't know? Tezuka-Taichou, Inui-sama, Kawamura-sama, and Fuji-sama don't have the gene and they're probably the most powerful people here, against people who do and don't have the gene. Taichou just has all-round amazing fighting skills, Inui-sama is a master marksman, Kawamura-sama holds the spot for strongest hand-to-hand fighter, and Fuji-sama is a genius." He put his arms behind his head. "Kikumaru-sama has M-Speed, Momo-chan-sama has M-Earth, Oishi-sama has M-Restoration and is chief medical officer, and Kaidou-sama has M-Summoning; all of them together form the strongest group I've ever seen."

Echizen went back into his own thought process while Horio went on to talk about missions they had done. If they were indeed the strongest team then why did they need his and Ryoga's help to infiltrate the camp? What could an ice and lightening user add to their group? He never did get a _proper_ education on magic because the family had tried to keep it a secret. He still only knew the basics of magic and still had a hard time controlling it when his emotions got the better of him; like when they first found them, he lost control when he saw Ryoga drop to the ground and blood start to stain his shirt.

"Here we are." Snapped from his thoughts by Horio, Echizen found they were standing outside of the med tent. When they went inside, Echizen was surprised to see how big it was because it didn't even look like it could fit two cots side-by-side from the outside. "Oishi-sama!" Horio called out.

"Hai!" A young man with a strange bowl haircut came into view. "Ah Horio-kun, is something wrong?"

"Momo-chan-sama said to bring this kid to see his brother." Horio threw a thumb over his shoulder at Echizen who, in turn, raised an eyebrow about being called a kid because the two of there were clearly the same age, if not a year or so apart.

"Ah thank you. I was just going to go find him myself." Horio bowed and left the tent. "Well then Echizen-kun, I think you'll be pleased to know your brother's life is in no immediate danger. We had a bit of trouble at first because everyone that touched him would seem to get a bit frost bitten."

Echizen snorted a bit. "That's his _self-defense_ as he puts it."

Oishi smiled and lead him to Ryoga's cot. "Well it's a good strategy. Anyways he's sleeping right over here. He should wake up in an hour or two." Oishi's smile lessened. "He was shot in the upper left quarter of his abdomen. We think that because of his body's _self-defense_ as you put it, it tried to freeze the bullet and that's why there was no exit wound found. Luckily nothing major was hit and we were able to treat him fairly quickly. He should be perfectly fine, if not a little sore."

Echizen saw Ryoga sleeping on a cot. He was glad he looked so peaceful. A ping of guilt ran through Echizen; of course it would be his fault his brother got shot. If Ryoga hadn't pushed him out of the way, it would be him lying in the cot.

"While you're here Echizen-kun, would you mind if I looked you over and did a few tests?"

"Just think of it like a physical for sports. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes." Echizen hesitated then nodded. "Thank you. Since you're going to be with us for a while, I figured it would be better to have a medical record for you." He gestured for him to sit on the cot next to Ryoga. "Now, do you any _self-defense_ like your brother does?" Echizen frowned at the question and looked down at his hands. Oishi was a little surprised at the action. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No it's fine. You didn't say anything wrong." He curled his hands into fists. "To be honest Oishi-san, I don't really know anything about my magic. Since we had to keep it a secret, I never got put in the proper classes in school and never really learned about it. Everything I know is basically secondhand knowledge from Ryoga… when your team had first found us, I couldn't- control what I was doing. I know your group needs our help with taking Chargarde but the best I could pose as is probably bait."

The two sat in silence. Echizen turn from him and looked at Ryoga as if willing for him to wake up and fix the situation. Oishi was stunned at what he just heard. With the amount of power Echizen had, it was dangerous for him not to be able to control it.

"What if you could learn?" Both of them looked to see Inui standing a few cots away. "If you could truly understand and control your magic, would you be willing to aid us?"

Echizen looked towards his brother then at his hands. "You can teach me?"

"Of course."

"Okay. Teach me and we'll help you."

Inui's glasses gleamed. "Wonderful. I'll inform the others of your decision." With that, Inui left the tent.

"Echizen-kun…" Oishi sighed and smiled.

"Don't you think you should consult others before making a group decision on your own?" The cot next to them had found a voice. "Never did I think I'd see the day were you swallow your pride and ask someone for help."

Echizen grabbed the pillow on his cot and shoved it in Ryoga's face. "No one asked for your input."

"Ah Ryoga-san!" The pillow was pulled back to reveal Ryoga's goofy grin. "You should still be asleep."

"Who can sleep when you two are chatting away at my bedside?" He sat up. "My body has a thing where- I don't really know how to explain it- if an unknown substance gets into my bloodstream, it'll get frozen and be pushed out." He saw a look of horror on Oishi's face. "Before you ask, yes I was awake for your treatment and no, I didn't feel any pain. That part of my body numbed itself out."

"I-I've never heard of anything like that happening before with an ice user." Oishi cleared his throat. "How do you feel?"

Ryoga smiled as he sat up on the cot and stretched. "Everything feels like it's where it's supposed to be. I _suppose_ you did a good job of fixing me up. Thank you Oishi-san."

"It's my job Ryoga-san. If I can't take care of a wound like that, I wouldn't call myself a healer." Oishi smiled. "Echizen-kun, I would still like to give you a physical, despite your magic."

Echizen nodded and Oishi started looking him over. Ryoga got up and stretched in spite of Oishi telling him to stay put so he could really heal up. When Ryoga asked what they were up against and why they were there, Oishi more than hesitated to share and Echizen completely ignored his question, not wanting to think about it again. Oishi gave him the rather simplified version of the story Tezuka and the others gave Echizen in the tent; the central power was dangerous and heavily guarded, their team wasn't strong enough to infiltrate, and the two of them would be more than enough to help. Ryoga knew he was leaving something out but decided not to press the matter seeing as the two of them were uncomfortable with talking about it.

When Oishi finished with Echizen, he pleaded with Ryoga to lie back down and get the rest he needed to be at full strength and Echizen took that as his queue to leave. The sun had started to set when he left the tent and was a little surprised and relieved to see Horio not waiting for him. He took the opportunity to wander around by himself and get a better feel for his surroundings. He was able to find the mess tent and peeked inside and only then understood why it was called a _mess_ tent. He continued to walk around, more or less ignoring the people around him who gave him odd looks. He didn't care what they thought anyways.

He found the training grounds he and Horio had passed earlier and marveled at the people sparring. Some were doing non-magic hand-to-hand, others had been fighting long and short distance with magic, both in the raw form and weapons shaped from it, but what piqued his interest the most was what looked like a group that had their magic concentrated onto their fists and were doing hand-to-hand. Something like that must have taken immense concentration. He stayed there until it had gotten dark out and lanterns were lit. The different colors from the auras of the magic were beautiful against the dark night sky.

"Would you like to learn?" Echizen turned to the voice that had addressed him; tall, bulky, brown hair, and surprisingly gentle smile. This was the _Kawamura_ Horio was talking about earlier. "You've been here for a few hours so I figured you might want to know how it's done. Ah, I'm Kawamura Takashi. Nice to meet you."

Echizen smirked. "What good is learning how to fight like that if I can't even control what power I have right now?" Echizen somehow felt a pang of guilt when Kawamura's smile dropped slightly. He didn't mean for it to come out as snarky as it did.

"Why not just learn basic hand-to-hand right now and worry about the magic later? There's no harm in learning self-defense."

"No, there's not- but aren't I more valuable to you if I actually understood why I'm so important to the guys you're hunting?" He leaned on the fence.

" _Kawamura-sama! Show us your power!"_ A yell from the training ground.

Kawamura waved. "You're a part of this squad now Echizen. You'll always be valuable to us but not for the reasons you think." He opened the gate to the fence and went inside. "Take your time and learn what you can."

 _Part of the squad now huh?_ Echizen smirked as he watched Kawamura walk onto the training grounds with a group of soldiers. He felt something brush against his legs then bent down and picked up Kaidou's hologram cat, assuming it had come to get him because it was time to go back to the tent he was originally in. He started walking back but turned towards the grounds once again to see Kawamura slip on a pair of fingerless gloves and start yelling.

"DORIA. OKAY OKAY OKAY. WHO WANTS TO GO!"

Echizen shook his head at the sudden burst of power the older boy found. No wonder he held the spot for best hand-to-hand fighter. He walked through the camp still ignoring the stares he got until he got to his tent. Ryoga was lying in a cot making little ice crystals above his head.

"So? Did you figure how it's going to play out?" Ryoga asked as he spun the crystals. "And what's with the cat?"

"You heard didn't you?" He sat on his cot and placed the cat next to him. "I agreed to help with whatever they're going to do against Chargarde. You know ultimately you're going to have to help too."

"Of course. Who else is going to save your ass from being captured?" Ryoga smirked and threw a snowball at him.

"You're the one who's going to need saving if you do that again." He brushed the snow off. "Inui-san said he was going to teach me how to control my powers so something like earlier doesn't happen again." The cat ran out of the tent.

"Well good. That means I can concentrate on perfecting my own power then." He turned over. "You sure you're alright from earlier?"

"Go to bed." Echizen crawled under his covers. "If you disturb my sleep I'm going to make you into my personal lightning rod."

Ryoga smiled. "Always so hostile. Goodnight Chibisuke."

"Goodnight Ryoga."

* * *

 **Oh my god will you look at the amount of angst in this.**

 **Well there ya go. Long ass chapter for all you people. Didn't mean for it to happen but meh. Still open for military lingo and school suggestions. Right now it's leaning towards Hyoutei because I know their characters best.**

 **Please forgive spelling and grammar and stupidness and corniness and all the angst and most likely how late it was and oh my god I'm sorry.**

 **Alright hope you liked it. See ya later!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay so apparently there were episodes of New Prince of Tennis that I didn't watch and oh my god they were amazing.**

 **What's up everyone? Hope you've enjoyed everything so far. I have no set end so I'm just going to go with it and see how everything turns out.**

 **To the guest that asked about the bros: yes. They're full blood brothers because the plot wouldn't work if they were canon bros.**

 **Here's chapter four. Enjoy!**

* * *

There was a sound like some type of horn that startled Echizen from his sleep. He sat up on his cot and looked at his surroundings; he was still there in the tent he and Ryoga were provided with by Cardinal soldiers. There was a dull glow coming through the seams of the tent. He went a peeked through the opening to see the sun starting to rise then walked back to his cot, lay down, and covered his face with his pillow.

"It's- literally- dawn." Echizen moaned through his pillows. "What are they doing up?"

"Chibisuke, we're in a military base." Ryoga's reply was mumbled. "What were you expecting; a relaxing wakeup call and breakfast in bed?"

"Shut up." Echizen tried to fall back asleep but the sound of boots and people yelling _good morning's_ deterred any thought of it. "How can they do this every day?"

"After about two or so weeks you kinda get used to it." A new voice was in the tent. "Kora Echizen, you said you wanted to learn about your magic right? You need to go with our schedule."

Momo's voice wasn't one of the first things Echizen wanted to hear in the morning. "I changed my mind. Go away."

Ryoga snorted while Momo sighed. He pointed his finger at Echizen's cot. " _Proclino."_ The ground under Echizen's cot was suddenly tilted, which caused Echizen to fall from it. Ryoga looked at him from under his pillow and snickered. Momo tossed him a set of clothes. "Get changed and meet us at the training grounds. Ryoga-san," Ryoga flinched at the thought of having the same fate befall him. "Oishi-san you should still rest and recover." He tossed another set of clothes onto Ryoga's cot. "You can meet us when you're ready. Kora Echizen, if you don't hurry then Inui-san will make you his test subject." With that, he left the tent.

Echizen set in a mess of blankets on the ground, more than irritated at what had happened. Nonetheless, he didn't like the idea of being anyone's test subject for anything so he fixed his cot, grumbling obscene things while doing it, and begun to change. The outfit Momo had left him with consisted of a dark green t-shirt, a white undershirt, and dark green pants which were all slightly too big for him but he didn't care too much.

"Aren't you coming?" He asked as he began out of the tent.

"I'll catch up." Ryoga smirked at the frown on his brother's face, clearly thinking it was unfair for him to have to meet everyone while Ryoga could keep sleeping.

Echizen rolled his eyes and exited the tent. _Stupid, lazy; why does he get to continue sleeping?_ Even though Ryoga had been injured, he was practically healed and could totally keep up with whatever they were going to do today, but whatever; better safe than sorry. As he walked to the training ground, he saw Kaidou's cat start walking with him. He didn't mind at all but he figured everyone else who was also on the way there would be used to seeing the two together by now even if it was only one day. When he got to the grounds, the cat left and he was greeted by everyone else.

A chorus of _good morning_ rang from the group as he approached to which he replied with a scowl. "The only good morning is one where you can sleep." He mumbled.

"Come now Echizen-kun." Oishi sweat dropped and handed him a rice ball. "This is basically free time until we have to move so now is the best time to start teaching you. We also thought it would be a good idea for you to train with us for extra protection."

"Whatever you say." Echizen bit into his rice ball and listened as Tezuka addressed the crowd in front of them.

"Alright. Today we are going to do some basic tests to see your progress." A murmur went through the crowd. "You will be split into groups and put under the care of one of the Special Forces officers for monitoring. The tests will consist of the following: speed, power, ability to make quick decisions, and hand-to-hand combat. When the results are taken into account, you will be placed into another group that corresponds with the field you did poorly in and will be trained in that field until you are satisfactory. This is how you'll be split up-"

"Ne, Momo-san." Echizen was watching the crowd form themselves into different groups on Tezuka's command.

"What's up kid?" Momo was laughing as people scrambled to their positions.

"You guys are the Special Forces of Cardinal." Momo nodded. "So that implies that you go where requested right? Not to mention Oishi-san said something about leaving." He nodded once again but a little slower. "Why is he able to command everyone like he is? Shouldn't that be the job of the superior of the camp or something?"

Momo stared at Echizen then burst out laughing and clapped him on the back. "Finally caught on did you?"

"You're right in saying we move around a lot." Fuji cut in. "The reason Tezuka is able to command them is because he's commander of this camp. Didn't Horio tell you what camp you're in?"

"No, he just said this was a camp."

"This is Cardinal's Special Forces Camp." Kikumaru said as he latched onto Echizen. "Everyone here is in training to be a part of our unit. Do you understand?" Echizen slowly nodded. It was a bit confusing but he got the most of it. Tezuka wasn't just the leader of the Special Forces but the camp commander.

"So- does that make all of you generals?"

"Something like that." Kawamura said as he scratched the back of his head. Though it didn't really answer his question, Echizen decided to leave it at that and not push further.

He looked at the groups that had finally come together; the crowd had split into eight different groups and each member of the Special Forces Unit was issued to one of them. Tezuka sent them to their assigned spaces and ordered for them to wait for their commanding officer to give further instruction.

"Echizen, you'll be with Inui. He'll go over the basic information you should know. I'll be over later to check on your progress." With that, the group went to their assigned groups and started handing out drills.

When Inui had finished explaining the drills to his group and sending them off to start their trials he spoke to Echizen. "Let's start with what you know. How many different kinds of magic are there?"

Echizen was surprised at the bluntness of the question. "Three; Element, Mental, and Arcane."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Element magic users command forces of nature. Some can bend water to their will, some are able to cause mold soil, and other can conjure fire or create an electric current. So people like me, Momo-san, and Ryoga are Element users." Inui nodded. "Mental would be best described as magic of the will and includes a slew of powers that rely on the will of the user. So- Oishi-san could fit into this one." Inui nodded once more and shouted something to one of the soldiers. "The word _arcane_ means _known_ _or_ _understood_ _by_ _very_ _few._ True to definition, the arcane branch of magic talents is poorly understood even by those who are born with these magic powers. Their talents are frequently disturbing. Kaidou-san and Kikumaru-san can fit into this. All three kinds are mainly controlled by the user's emotions and those who are born with the M-Gene only fit into one of the categories."

"Very good Echizen. I didn't think you'd understand so much." Inui's glasses gleamed.

"I understand the backstory and the history but I still don't know how to control mine." He crossed his arms and frowned. "Even when I'm able to control it somewhat, I can't gauge the amount of power I'm putting into it and end up going overboard."

"So like when we found you?" Echizen slowly nodded and Inui scribbled in his notebook. "Tell me, what spell did you use to form that wall around you? What were the words you said?"

"I didn't say anything. It just happened." Inui raised an eyebrow. "When Ryoga got shot, the only thing running through my mind was I needed to somehow protect us. When I saw the soldiers I become panicked and it formed itself."

"And I assume it was the same for when you struck them down also." Again Echizen nodded. "Alright. Take your place with the others." He raised an eyebrow. "You're going to do the same exercises as the rest of the unit. It's the best way to collect data to see where we need to train you to help control your magic."

Echizen shrugged and joined the rest of Inui's group. It wasn't unheard of that sometimes when emotion is stronger than rational thought, magic will strike out on its own. As a matter of fact they've had to deal with some of those cases. Usually it ended with the person in question collapsing like Echizen did after a few short yet powerful bursts of energy. What puzzled Inui was the amount of time Echizen was able to stay standing after initiating the first one and that is power didn't seem to waver at all.

"You know when he was younger and had tantrums, he caused a few blackouts." Ryoga laughed as he came up beside Inui. "Tou-san always got mad because he blew so many fuses and caused basically every lightbulb in the house to shatter."

" _Iie data."_ Inui scribbled in his notebook. "Ryoga-san are you well enough to be out and about? Oishi was very adamant about having you rest until it was absolutely necessary for you to get up."

"You seemed to be the data man around here. You tell me." He grinned.

Inui smirked. "So it would seem. You're well enough to be moving but should wait another day before doing anything strenuous." Ryoga saluted. "Ryoga-san, have you noticed anything strange or unusual about your brother's magic?"

"Define strange and unusual. Just him _having_ it is strange and unusual."

"Perhaps something like the spells he uses or fluctuations in power or ability."

"Power or ability… I don't want to sound biased but he's probably got the strongest electricity magic I've ever seen. It's like he never seems to run out of energy whenever something happens. The only time it'll stop is when he tires himself out."

Just to clarify. "So you're saying his power is great but his physical stamina is poor?"

Ryoga scratched his head. "Not physical stamina, no." He gestured to his brother that was running around with the other soldiers, having no problem keeping up with them. "We've done a lot of running in our journey and he used to play tennis before everything went down so his physical stamina is probably one of the better things he has going. I don't know, maybe his mental stamina but I don't really think that makes sense."

In all truth it didn't but Inui kept on topic. "What about the spells he uses? Is the dictation strange at all?"

Ryoga snorted. "Well, in all honesty he doesn't really say anything." Before Inui could ask, he continued. "I've never really seen him utter a spell."

That made Inui stop writing. "Are you saying he doesn't need them?"

"I don't know how to be clearer Inui-san. He never really says anything before it happens. I mean every once in a while he will but usually not." Ryoga was confused by the look on Inui's face. "Is that weird?"

"Certainly. Ryoga-san, how is he able to produce his magic without saying anything?" He looked over to Echizen who had begun sprinting back and forth with a few others, keeping his lead while doing it.

"You just- think about it." Now Ryoga was the confused one. "Is that not a normal thing M-Gene people have?" Inui frowned slightly and shook his head. Ryoga blinked then pressed his hands together. Inui watched as he slowly pulled them apart and Ryoga had a small ice sculpture of a bird in his palm. "Really? Not even something like this?"

"Incredible Ryoga-san." Inui was writing furiously in his notebook. "There's been no recorded case of someone possessing an ability like this."

"This is the greatest thing I can really do without needing a spell to make something bigger." He looked at Inui. "Are you sure that this isn't a normal thing? No one ever said anything whenever I've done it and Chibisuke can do it so I thought it was just a thing people could do. I mean it's possible for him to say something but I've never really seen it."

"There is a small chance that there could be a record of it somewhere but the probability is low. There's a possibility that Chargarde knew about it and that adds on to why they're hunting you and your brother." He put down his notebook. "But rest assured, as long as you're with us, we won't let anything happen to you two." He turned to his group. "Yosh! Everyone line up!"

"What are you planning on doing?"

"I'm going to up the antics." His glasses gleamed. "Split into two groups; those with the M-Gene on the right and those without on the left." He caught Echizen's eye and nodded that he was to be included. "Once you've done that, divide into pairs."

"Inui-san are you sure it's alright for him to be included?" Ryoga asked.

"I am doing this _because_ he's included. With him it makes an even number for each side." When everyone was paired up, he saw Echizen got paired with Arai and his glasses glinted. "Alright. You will be fighting your opponent and the objective is to defeat them or make them submit as quickly as possible."

" _That's no different from what we normally do, Inui-sama!"_ One of the soldiers shouted.

"The loser of the fight will have to drink this." He pulled a bottle out of nowhere. "Penal-tea."

The group all deadpanned at the bottle in Inui's hand. Echizen didn't understand why everyone seemed so freaked out over a drink. It sounded fine. He noticed that his sparring partner didn't seem to care either. In fact, he looked rather confident and snarky, like he knew he was going to win and that made Echizen irritated.

"Spread out and at the sound of the gun begin. You may use any style of fighting you like but M-Gene users, you will not be permitted to form weapons with your magic." Everyone went to spread out to a decent sized spot while Inui made his way to Echizen. "Let me introduce you, Echizen this is Arai. He was born with the M-Gene for water and is one of the- _more talented_ fighters we have." Echizen nodded, hearing it from Horio the day before. "Arai this is Echizen Ryoma. He'll be under our care for a while and was born with the M-Gene for electricity."

Aria looked at Echizen and raised an eyebrow. "Will he be alright Inui-sama? Doesn't look like he has any training and I don't want to hurt him." His tone didn't have a bit of sincerity in it.

"He will be fine." Inui reassured him and glanced at Echizen. "No need to hold back."

Aria shrugged as he and Echizen took their spot on the field. Inui went back to his spot with Ryoga and pulled out a pistol. "Ready-!"

"Are you sure about this Inui-san?" Ryoga asked one last time while eying his brother on the field, who didn't seem to be interested in the least bit.

"Trust me Ryoga-san." He aimed the pistol in the air and fired.

The groups on the field went at it; there were colors flying from people's hands and dust being kicked up by their feet. Neither wanted to lose. There was one patch that was relatively clear and it was where Echizen and Arai were standing. Neither made a move.

"Oi gaki, make it easy on yourself and just forfeit." Arai said lazily while flicking his hand in an annoyed manner. "I'm not going to wait my energy on a shrimp like you."

Echizen shook his head and smirked. "Is that how you got your title? _Best fighter?_ You just intimidate people without a fight and win by default?" Arai frowned and glared at him. Echizen held out his arm. "Ne, do you mind if I take you _best fighter_ title?"

Arai cracked his knuckles. "I'm going to make you eat those words you runt." He held out both of his hands and started to say a spell.

Echizen snorted in amusement. Inui had to have planned it so somehow he would get stuck with him. He looked to the sky then Arai. " _Adtonitus Detendo."_

Within seconds of the words leaving his mouth, there was static in the air. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he watched a massive lightning bolt crash into the dirt besides Arai. The clap it made was tremendously loud and caused the other groups to stop fighting and find the source. They saw the scorch mark and pattern from where the bolt had struck and stood in awe at the boy who had done it. The field was silent. Even the other training groups seemed to have stopped to investigate were it had come from. The only sound that was heard after a minute of silence was the thud of Arai falling back and hitting the ground. Echizen didn't really know what to do. He stood there, looking at his arm in anger.

Slowly murmurs could start being heard as the others took in the realization of what just happened.

 _That kid just beat Arai._

 _Did that really just happen?_

 _Look, it didn't even hit him._

"Well done Echizen." Inui was behind him and clapped him on the shoulder. He could feel his hair start to stand straight from the electrical current. "I think you just set a new record. You also didn't seem to make contact at all. I'm impressed."

"Good job Chibisuke." Ryoga slung his arm around his shoulders. "I knew you could control it if you tried."

"That wasn't controlled." Echizen spitefully replied. "Not in the least bit."

Inui frowned but quickly turned it towards the others who had stopped fighting. "Waste any more time and you'll all be drinking Penal-tea." They all went back to sparring. "Echizen, you two may go back to the barracks and rest. We'll be there when we're through here to speak about your performance." Echizen all but stormed off. He was angry at himself for what he just did. Ryoga ran after him and tried talking but was thoroughly ignored.

"What do you think you're doing Inui?" A voice sounded behind him.

"Doing what you told me; I'm gather data on him." Inui spun to meet Tezuka's glare. "What better way than to see him in action?"

"I told you to gather what you can from your training, not by having him face off and almost injure another teammate." He rubbed his temples and sighed. "Don't pull something like this again."

"Yessir."

* * *

"Oi Chibisuke!" Ryoga called to his brother as they walked through the camp back to their tent. Neither noticed the cat that was trailing them. "Chibisuke listen to me!" Echizen ignored him and stomped through the camp. The lights that were hanging down started to flicker as he passed. He cursed himself as he made the final turn and went into the tent. "What's your problem Chibisuke?"

"Did you not see what I just did?" Echizen threw his arm out towards the training grounds.

"You just beat someone in a match." Ryoga crossed his arms. "I don't see what the big deal is. Shouldn't you be glad you were able to control-"

"It wasn't controlled!" The air inside the tent began to feel electrified. "I thought maybe I could have some fun but when those words left my mouth- I knew I had over done it again. The bolt was over-powered. If my aim wasn't off, I would've killed him!"

Ryoga's hair was standing on end. "Chibisuke, you need to calm down." He held his hands up. "There's no use in being upset about it. What's done is done and you can't change it."

"What if it had hit him?" Echizen's tone dropped. "What if he had been killed?"

Ryoga heard lightbulbs outside pop and break. "Chibisuke control your emotions. You'll do more damage in here than out there. I know you're scared about what you could've done but you didn't and you won't."

Echizen curled his hands into a fist then let them flop to his side. "I don't want to be one of those kind of people." He collapsed onto his cot with a huff.

Ryoga let out a sigh of relief. He'd calmed his brother down before but he hasn't lost control for a long time, given when he was unconscious and couldn't. The electric feeling in the tent died down. He was glad nothing happened. He didn't know what Inui was thinking in letting him participate in such a thing, but he ended up giving him the benefit of the doubt because he didn't know the true potential of Echizen's powers. A thing that was weird though was Echizen actually cast a spell so that probably helped put stress on.

"Chibisuke, don't worry about anything. We'll figure this out." Ryoga looked to his brother to see him passed out on the cot. _We'll figure this out._

* * *

 **Okay so. That's a good place to stop I guess. If it keeps going on it'll be so long and I dun wanna do that. The details for the magic or whatnot is from a site called hiddenlegacy so you can go look at that if you want.**

 **I hope you've all liked it so far. Please forgive spelling and grammar and angst and stupidity and corniness and I'm sorry.**

 **See ya later!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Aaaaand here it is. Hope you guys have liked it so far. Gotta say I'm having a real fun time writing this one. Also I'm hopefully keeping a good updating pace.**

 **Just to clear up confusion before it starts, the time difference between the end of the previous chapter and beginning of this was is about three or so hours so it's relatively around noon or one. Or ya know, use your imagination for your own concept of time. Maybe it's already dark out. Who knows?**

 **Thanks to everyone that's reviewed and whatnot. It gives me life.**

 **Okay well here's chapter five. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Inui, if you pull something like that again, you will be the one participating in drills." Tezuka said amongst the group. The eight groups had all come together after the incident with Echizen and were currently running suicides across the training field. At least most of them were; half of the group passed out due to stopping or not making the time limit and having to drink Penal-tea.

"Honestly Inui, someone could've gotten hurt." Oishi said with a sigh.

"But it was due to the incident that I was able to get the best data." Inui fixed his glasses. "Just from his one attack, I was able to deduce his magical ability is several times greater than we thought."

Momo slung his arm around Inui's shoulders. "Inui-san, we already knew that. Why else would Chargarde be hunting him?" Everyone except Inui nodded in agreement.

"How's Arai-kun taking his defeat?" Fuji asked. Everyone looked to the young male who was currently lying on the ground. Fuji smirked. "Looks like its hitting him hard."

"He's fine. Echizen's attack missed and he merely collapsed from the shock of the situation." Inui answered.

"Was that a pun?" Kaidou asked with a raised eyebrow. "He looks like he's dying." The boy did indeed look like the reaper was standing over him.

"That's probably because of Inui's drink." Kikumaru said. "Just the smell of it makes me want to gag."

"What happened exactly?" Kawamura asked. "All I saw was the bolt come down and when we made it over here, Echizen and his brother were heading back to the camp. Are they alright?"

The group frowned. The only one that saw what happened was Inui and he was no help in saying what he had done to provoke it. They did notice how Echizen looked rather angry when he and Ryoga were leaving the grounds, not to mention the static feeling in the air had just begun to calm down.

"We'll take a break and see what we can figure out." Tezuka said. He then called to the remaining people still running suicides to stop and they would continue later in the day. With that, the group made their way back to camp and to the brother's tent.

While walking through the camp, they noticed that almost all of the bulbs that were stung up were shattered. "Kid must have lost his cool." Momo said as he brushed pieces of glass to the side. When they got to the tent they could feel a cold chill coming out of it and upon Tezuka entering, he found Echizen, assumed to be sleeping, on his cot and Ryoga sitting on his slumped forward, elbows propped up on his legs while his chin was resting on his hands. "Ryoga-san."

Ryoga looked at Tezuka and saw the ever so slightly confused look on his face. "Sorry; the cold helps him sleep." He knew why Tezuka was there. "Do you mind if we speak somewhere else and let him sleep?" Tezuka nodded and Ryoga followed him out of the tent. They walked through the camp towards the communications tent.

Everyone went to their normal places. "Ne Ryoga-san, how are you able to do that?" Kikumaru asked. "I mean change the temperature in your tent?"

"Ah, it's relatively simple." His tone sounded distant. " _Exsolvo Aer."_ A dull mist started emanating off his body and drifted to the floor. "It's a rather simple spell that doesn't really take any energy and can be stopped at a thought." The mist stopped and dissipated. Ryoga stared at Inui. "Why did you tell my brother to participate in that exercise?"

Inui fixed his glasses. "I needed to get proper data and the best way for that is through combat."

Ryoga's hands were clenched in fists. "Inui-san, I heard you tell them there was no need to hold back. Do you understand what would've happened if his attack hit his opponent?" Tezuka's eyes narrowed. "He still doesn't know his own limits. I know you know this, so why the hell would you allow him to go all out?"

Inui frowned and looked away, being well aware that he shouldn't have allowed Echizen to do as he pleased.

"Ryoga-san, would you mind telling us what happened while you two were in your tent?" Fuji said, taking control of the situation. "We noticed the light bulbs were shattered."

Ryoga sighed. "You're all aware that Chibisuke has a hard time controlling his power and the main reason for that is because he can't control his emotions very well. When we went back to the tent, he was angry; not at Inui-san or Arai-kun but himself. He said he tried out a spell to see if that would have any effect on the output of power but it seemed to make it worse."

"What do you mean he _tried out a spell_?"

"Normally he doesn't. _Apparently_ it's not a normal thing to be able to cast spells without some sort of dictation." He proceeded to clasp his hands together and show everyone what he had shown to Inui earlier.

"Sugoi Ryoga-san." Kikumaru said while prodding at the small ice sculpture in his hand.

"Your brother can perform such things as well?" Kawamura asked.

Ryoga nodded. "His powers are greater than mine though. He said that his attack earlier was over powered because he actually said a spell. He would've been able to perform a less powerful version of it without saying anything. I don't know how or why we're able to do it but we thought it was something natural all M-Gene owners could do."

It was a strange thing to accept; spells that need no verbal dictation to work.

"Let's start with what we do know then." Oishi said. "Inui, what were you able to find out?"

Inui flipped open his notebook. "He has surpassed my expectations by far. His power level is more than double of what I thought was possible. His physical stamina is comparable to that of the soldiers seeing as he was able to keep up with them during training. His mental mind set seems normal; he understood the general theory of magic and can categorize people accordingly. Although, he is not able to control the amount of power put into an attack and that is believed to be so because of the excess amount of power he has. What we should focus on is his emotional state. Emotions are said to be the embodiment of the soul and that feeds into the general controlling of the M-Gene."

"Who would be best for this?" Momo asked.

"Everyone will. Emotions and power are interlocked but seeing as he has extra it'll be more difficult to gauge." Tezuka answered.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Momo glanced at Kaidou who had been standing in the corner with his eyes closed. "What's up Mamoshi? You've been awfully quiet." Kaidou made no move to retaliate, he only furrowed his eyebrows.

"What's he doing?" Ryoga asked to Kawamura, who had been the closest to him.

"He's getting a report from his scout." Kawamura replied. "He has a mental connection with the animals he summons and they send him regular reports on what they've seen. Though, it's usually at the end of the day."

Kaidou opened his eyes slowly and composed himself. "There's trouble on the training ground. Arai is fighting Echizen, but he isn't fighting back." Everyone tensed at the information.

"We better get out there." Fuji said. The group got up and began to exit the tent. Everyone but Ryoga knew what kind of person Arai was and how he reacts to certain situations. Ryoga was the only one who knew how his brother would react to Arai's challenge but he was basically unstable and therefore unpredictable. He hoped nothing major would happen until they got there.

* * *

Despite what the others thought, Echizen was not asleep when they went to go talk. Ryoga wasn't lying when he said the cold helped him sleep but with what had happened a few hours prior, he couldn't sleep. When they had gone, Echizen slung his legs over his cot and sighed. He knew he probably should've gone with them to discuss whatever but in all fairness he would probably cause more trouble. After a few minutes, he left the tent.

He subconsciously walked through the grounds, still ignoring people who spoke to him. It wasn't the _where are you from_ banter but almost everyone that spoke to him congratulated him on beating Arai. All that did was make his situation worse. When he snapped out of his self-induced trance, he found he was at the training field and was a little surprised to see a great group of people still sparring despite what they had done in the morning. He walked to the spot where Arai had been and stared at the scorch mark on the ground. It had been negligence on his part. Even though Inui told him there was no need to hold back, he felt stupid to believe it.

"Oi." He didn't need to turn to know the person behind him was Arai. "Brat, do you have any idea what you've done?" Echizen glanced behind him and gave a rather dreary look. "Not only did you manage to humiliate me in front of our group but also Inui-sama. How will I be able to secure my spot in their group with a performance like that?"

Echizen fully turned to face him. "One loss isn't the end of the world." The whole thing was petty.

"Normally no but everything seemed to have changed when you arrived. I was top; no one could rival me but then here comes thing kid who looks like he can't do anything without breaking." Echizen frowned. "Do you understand the humiliation you put me through? A scrawny kid like you taking me out in one hit?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Echizen scoffed and started walking from the field. A wall of water appeared in front of him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Arai was standing with his arm out. "We have a score to settle."

" _Look what's going on over there!"_

" _A fight so quick after training?"_

There were shouts of others and before he knew anything, a group began to form to watch the battle.

"I'm not fighting you." Echizen firmly stated.

"You don't have much of a choice now do you?" He held up both of his arms. " _Adaqou Convexum."_ The wall that was in front of Echizen began to spread and soon the two of them were encased in a bubble. "What now brat?"

Echizen scowled. He wasn't going to give Arai the satisfaction he wanted. Not to mention he hadn't really completely calmed down from what he had done earlier and the situation at hand was making things worse. "Are you deaf or just stupid? I am not going to fight you."

Arai was steaming. " _Gagate."_ A jet of water emerged from the wall and struck Echizen in the back, launching him forward. "What's wrong brat? Where's all that power from earlier?"

"W-What about you?" Echizen got himself up. "I've yet to see the power you brag about."

" _He's serious right off the bat!"_

" _Pila!"_ Several balls of water jolted out and began pelting the lightning user. "How about that? A stupid kid like you could never defeat someone like me. That first attack was just a fluke."

Echizen coughed. "Is this how you use your time; relentlessly attacking someone who refuses to fight back?" He knew Arai was trying to make him attack but he wouldn't give in to his taunts.

"Bastard." The water that was surrounding them fell but Arai gave no indication of wanting to end the one-sided battle. Echizen on the other hand began to once again walk from the field. Arai raised both of his hands. " _Incarcero."_ Water began to circle around Echizen and he soon found himself encased in a sphere of water. "Hope you can hold your breath because the only way to get out of that is to attack the caster."

" _Oi Arai, that's going too far."_

" _He's just a kid. What are you thinking?"_

He refused. Echizen wasn't going to attack. The first one in the spar was more powerful because of the spell he cast but if he were to send a jolt out, he was certain Arai would be spending several days or weeks even in the med tent, merely for the fact that water is an excellent conduit for electricity and Arai was practically water himself. He held his breath and watched Arai, not glared at or stared but watched with unwavering eyes.

" _Arai seriously that's enough."_

Echizen could see it through the glare and ripples of the water: Arai was scared that he wouldn't retaliate. He wanted to keep his alpha status among the people he knew and the only way to do it was if the opposing party was dealt with. The fact that Echizen wouldn't back down and forced him to be so rough terrified him. He never wanted it to escalate this far but now that it did, he had to keep it going.

" _Arai let him out!"_

Echizen closed his eyes and let the last bit of air he had out of his mouth. His lungs were starting to burn but he wouldn't bring himself to attack.

" _He's going to drown!"_

"Arai!" A very strong and angry voice broke through the crowd. Tezuka, along with the others, stomped through the mass of people and took in the sight in front of them. Upon seeing his commanding officers, the sphere immediately splashed to the ground leaving Echizen lying there coughing water from his lungs. Oishi and Ryoga rushed to his brother's side while the others went to Arai. "What do you think you're doing?"

Arai looked away in fear and shame. "I- I just-"

"You just- what?" Fuji was openly glaring at him.

"Did you honestly think something like this would go unnoticed?" Kaidou spat.

"To think you would go this far to save your pride." Kikumaru jeered.

"No! It was just-"

"It wasn't _just_ anything." Momo yelled. "You would've killed him!"

"I thought I saw some potential in you; now it's just disappointment." Kawamura said sadly.

"Do you know who that it?" Inui asked. Arai looked at the boy who was now trying to shove his caretakers off and insisting he was alright. He halfway nodded. "Do you understand why Chargarde is hunting him?" Again another half nod. "Do you know the extent of his power?" He shook his head. "His power is greater than yours, far greater. If that strike had hit you earlier, you'd be in the med tent as we speak. Had he attacked you here, you would most likely be fighting for your life." He went wide eyed. "Have you forgotten water conducts electricity?"

Arai's eyes were void of any emotion and just seemed to be staring into nothing. All the rage, humiliation, and jealously had faded. His gaze dropped to the ground when he realized the severity of Inui's words, in the reality of it, no matter what he could've done if they had an actual battle, he would've lost because water users are at a natural disadvantage against electricity users, just like electricity users have a disadvantage against earth users.

His world seemed to come crashing down on him as he realized what he had attempted to just do and how he would be viewed by everyone else in the camp. "I-I didn't mean, no I didn't want-" He couldn't form a sentence and before he knew it, he was sprawled out on the ground with a stinging sensation on his cheek.

" _You didn't what?"_ Ryoga was standing over him, fuming. _"You didn't_ want _to kill him; get caught? The only thing you thought about was your pride!"_ He had to be held back. _"What kind of person attacks a teenager who refuses to fight back? You're no better than Chargarde."_ His final words were spat like venom. He shook out of Kawamura's grip and went back to his brother.

"You will be suspended until further notice." Tezuka said. "You will not be allowed to train nor will you be allowed to study. You will be confined to your quarters and have someone with you at all times. Do I make myself clear?"

Arai's face went dark as he nodded. Tezuka called someone over from the side and had Arai escorted away.

"Honestly." Momo huffed out. "Never thought he would be stupid enough to do that."

"Are you alright Echizen?" Fuji and the group turned to the boy that was being fused over. Echizen gave a tired nod in response. He didn't expect that the confrontation would completely drain him of energy.

"It would be best if you went to lie down." Oishi said as he and Ryoga helped him to his feet. "I'll come by to see how you're doing." The two brothers nodded and headed back towards their tent though Ryoga had to keep his brother from stumbling. The group that had surrounded the occurrence quickly dissipated leaving the group of commanders.

"Inui." Kikumaru put his hands on his hips as if a mother was scolding a child. "You knew this was going to happen didn't you?"

"Why didn't you tell us something like this was going to happen?" Kaidou sighed.

Inui merely smirked. "I indeed know a second challenge was going to take place because of the nature of Arai's character, but the outcome was quite different from what I anticipated. If I had told you, you would've stopped it from happening which would've hindered his process of learning."

"What are you talking about?" Kawamura asked.

"Echizen could've easily stuck Arai down with one hit but from the display earlier, we could all see he was greatly upset about the situation." The group nodded. "Arai couldn't stand his pride and reputation being hurt like that so naturally he made a second confrontation. Don't you think that with how Echizen was acting, it was strange for him not to retaliate seeing he and Arai have the same personality type?"

"You're saying he was able to control his power despite his emotions." Tezuka clarified.

"Is that possible?" Momo asked. "Not even a full day of training and he already has some sort of control on everything?"

"Not completely, no. The power that would've been forced from his body- retaliated in a way. That's why he seemed so tired. That seems to be the only thing I do not have much information on. There are hardly any records of such things happening and we've never experienced anything like it."

"Will he be alright?" Oishi asked.

"That's for you to decide." Inui fixed his glasses. "Try to see if you can detect anything within his power flow when you check on him."

"Is it alright to travel with him like that?"

"We don't have a choice now." Tezuka firmly stated. "It's only a matter of time before Chargarde figures out we know their location. We're moving out tomorrow."

* * *

When the brothers got back to their tent, Echizen all but collapsed onto his cot. He was exhausted. His arms and legs had a tingly feeling in them, his chest felt tight; it was like he had just run a marathon.

"At least change before you lie down. Your cot's going to be soaked." Ryoga gestured to the other pair of clothes that had been placed on the crate.

Ryoga's request fell upon deaf ears. A sudden feeling of vertigo left Echizen's world spinning. He didn't know if it was a normal side effect of almost drowning but something in his body felt different. Maybe he was going into shock seeing as he was almost drowned. He took a deep breath to try to see if that would do anything but in the end it just made him more tired.

"That time, you were able to control it right?" He could barely make out Ryoga's voice in his drowsy state. "You didn't want to hurt him so you didn't attack, despite what you were feeling at that moment, which was most likely annoyance and anger right?" Ryoga snorted. "Remember what I told you, have a little faith in yourself. Come on, I'll help you get changed."

Echizen felt his brother pull him into a sitting position but all he did was fall back and pass out.

* * *

 **Man I've been noticing, I sure do end chapters a lot by making people pass out. I'm so original.**

 **Okay well there's that one. Hope you all liked it and whatnot. Next chapter is going to be really fun to write. Last chance on school suggestions that you wanna see. Also tell me if you wanna see a school be the villain or not. At this point it's all gonna be OCs and stuff.**

 **Please forgive grammar and spelling and stupidness and corniness and lateness and bad puns and angst and I'm sorry.**

 **Hope ya liked it! See ya later!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Aaaaaaah here we are. Now if I did this write, this chapter should have a decent amount of stupidness and action in it but knowing me that probably won't happen.**

 **Thanks to everyone that review and such. It gives me strength to write more. I saw that people wanted Rikkaidai in here somewhere so I'll try my luck at fitting them in. I don't really know how to write their characters so if and when I do put them in, please tell me if I got their personalities right.**

 **Here's chapter six. Enjoy!**

* * *

"I know this mission is important and everything-" Momo started. "-but do we really need to walk the whole way? It's not too late to turn back and get a truck… or maybe we could get HQ to send another pick up."

"You know that this is the safest way to stay off the radar Momo." Fuji said with a smile. "It would also be a waste of resources that could be used later."

"Well yeah but it's just so far. Couldn't we have the kid power a car or something?" Echizen shot him an irritated look.

"You complain every single time we have to go somewhere." Kaidou huffed. "It's the exact same thing. You sound like a broken record."

Kikumaru put his hands up and shrugged. "And you both seem to start arguing. That's just how it seems to be."

"Plus we're already taking a shortcut through the town." Kawamura added. "We should get there a day sooner if nothing happens on the way."

"But we've already been walking for _hours_."

Tezuka let out a sigh and stopped walking. "We'll rest here for a while." In all fairness, he too was tired but he mainly wanted to stop Momo's nagging. "Set up a perimeter of at least two blocks. Kikumaru scout out the town, Kaidou send out some scouts, Momoshiro set it up."

Kikumaru was practically bouncing. _"Incendo Accelero."_ His eye glowed and a dull gold aura emanated from his body. In the blink of an eye, he bolted from the group and into the town.

"He never seems to waste time." Oishi sweat dropped.

" _Musculus."_ Kaidou held out his hand and several small mice appeared and started to scatter into nearby buildings.

" _Semino Praetexo."_ Momo was kneeling with his hands planted on the ground. After a few seconds, everyone felt a surge of power. "That never gets old."

"What did you do?" Ryoga asked.

"I have plants sprouting up through cracks within a two block radius. If anyone crosses over I'll know where they're coming from." He had a cheeky smile on his face.

Kikumaru suddenly returned with a slight frown. "Momo, warn me when you're going to do that. I almost ran into a wall."

"Did you find anything?" Tezuka asked.

"There are signs that people might still be living in town somewhere or it was recently abandoned. It didn't look like anything hostile though so it's probably better if we leave it be and not cause whoever was or is there any trouble."

Knowing that he should've probably been listening but it being that he didn't care at all, Echizen let himself daydream. He thought back to what had happened the previous day after his run in with Arai.

 **Flashback**

 _Everything was a blur. The last thing he remembered was passing out as Ryoga tried to get him changed. He lied there on the cot in a hot sweat, feeling Ryoga's cold hand on his forehead and him speaking in a soft, hushed tone with someone._

" _This hasn't happened in a few years." His brother's hand stroked his hair._

" _You're saying this is a regular thing that used to happen?" He could barely recognize Oishi's voice. "Were the circumstances the same?"_

" _He used to get a fever at least once a week when he was younger. We all just though he had a weak immune system. It wasn't until we started traveling together that I realized it was some sort of result from his magic."_

 _Oishi knelt beside his cot and hovered his hand over his body. "The results from the tests I first performed on him showed no abnormality except he seems to have excess power but that shouldn't be enough to cause him to get sick."_

" _The only thing I can think of is that he was able to withhold his power from striking out at Arai-kun and it somehow created a backlash."_

 _Oishi nodded. "Inui said something like that too but- isn't it a bit hard to believe? It's like his own magic is attacking him. Has anything like that happened to you?"_

 _Ryoga shrugged. "I used to always get colds but it was before I knew control and my body had time to adjust to always being cold."_

" _That's a relatedly normal thing that happens but going with that logic, it's like saying Echizen has M-Fire." He took his hands away. "I can't sense anything wrong. Perhaps it's just the shock of what happened or from eating properly and his body's not used to it. If that's not the case then we'll just have to wait and see what comes next." There was a slight pause. "I wish I could do something to help him recover but I'm really only useful for physical wounds."_

" _It's alright Oishi-san. I usually took care of him at home seeing as I'm basically a walking iceberg. He should be alright."_

 _Oishi nodded. "Okay then. We'll be by later to see how he's doing." He left the tent._

 _Ryoga sighed. "Really, you get sick now of all times." He stroked his brother's hair. "What am I going to do with you?"_

 **End of Flashback**

He had slept for the remainder of that day, being woken up once to take medicine. He had felt better when they woke that morning but an overwhelming feeling of soreness had stuck with him and he still had a small fever. Ryoga had asked if they could wait one more day before moving but that was time they couldn't lose. Tezuka informed them that they would be traveling to another one of Cardinal's bases to meet up with their Special Forces unit to exchange information and the journey would take at least a day and a half to get there unhindered. Going on that information and how bad he felt, he almost agreed with Momo that they should've gone back and gotten a car he could've powered.

He frowned slightly. _Stupid power. What's the point of having it if it's not useful to me? All it does is cause trouble._

"You feel alright Chibisuke?" Ryoga set his hand on his head and caused him to snap out of his thoughts. "You don't feel any warmer than you were before."

Echizen brushed his brother's hand away. "I'm fine." He looked to the sky. "It's going to storm soon."

"How do you know that?" Kawamura asked. "The sky's clear."

Echizen merely rolled his eyes. "You could say he has a bit of a sixth sense." Ryoga answered. "He always seems to know when it's going to storm. Personally I think it's because he can feel the electricity in the air when no one else can."

"Saa, let's put it to the test then." Fuji suggested. "Which direction is it coming from and how long will it take to get here?"

Echizen pointed to the west. "It's three days away, possibly less if wind currents change."

"Yeah, yeah weather's so cool." Momo quickly brushed off the topic. "Can we please eat something? I feel like I'm wasting away."

"Is food the only thing you care about?" Kaidou hissed.

"I need to be fighting fit and I can't do that on an empty stomach!"

"Seeing as you brushed off Kaidou's insult, it appears to be true." Inui's comment made the group snicker.

"Alright, alright. Let's eat before Momo goes crazy." Oishi got out some dried fish and rice balls from his pack. Everyone sat in a circle and dug in.

"Ne Ochibi," Echizen looked at Kikumaru with a half glance. "How do you think you were able to withhold yourself from attack Arai even with him patronizing you?"

Echizen was a bit surprised at the sudden question; the rest of the group also because they looked at Kikumaru then to Echizen for an answer. "I- don't know."

"Come on, that's not an acceptable answer." Momo said.

"At the time Arai confronted you, what were you thinking?" Tezuka tried to clarify. "What were the emotions you experienced?"

He looked down at his hands. " _Why can't I control my own power; what would've happened if I hadn't missed?_ I was angry at myself for the display earlier. When he confronted me, I got annoyed and aggravated… the whole thing just seemed so petty."

"But despite feeling those emotions, you still didn't lash out. Was there anything else?"

There was a quiet for a few seconds. "I was scared." Ryoga's eyes widened slightly at that. "When he trapped me in the water, I just- I didn't want to hurt him. I didn't care if I was going to drown; I would rather die than have his blood on my hands and have to live with the guilt of killing a comrade."

"But if you drowned then Arai would've been the one who had to live with that guilt." Kawamura pointed out. "Don't you think that's a little selfish?"

"He wouldn't have done it. He was also scared but I was the one that pushed him to that point." Echizen stood up and started walking away. "In the end it was my fault anyways, like it always been."

"Echizen-kun-"

"Let him leave." Ryoga said. "He needs time to think. I'll get him when it's time for us to leave."

The group was quiet for a minute or two as they watched Echizen disappear behind a nearby building, processing what they had heard. Most thought it was a little strange that Echizen had confidence enough in Arai to believe he wouldn't let him drown, even though they had nothing but bad experiences since the two brothers got there and the fact that he seemed to be perfectly content with the idea of dying.

"The contributing factors seem to be mainly fear and anger." Inui said. "He can't control his power output because he's theoretically scared of it. It also works in reverse; he's scared of it because he can't control it."

Fuji rubbed his chin. "That could explain what happened when we found him and why Momo was able to calm him down and I wasn't."

"In any case, we need to start training him in what he needs to know and completely wipe that fear from his mind if we hope for any progress." Tezuka said. "It'll help when we get to our location." He stood up. "Let's get going."

"Ha? It's only been-" Momo stopped his nagging as a chill went up his spine. "Someone stepped into the boundary."

Everyone went on alert. "Which direction?" He pointed the way Echizen had left to. "Kaidou have your scouts seen anything?"

"No, nothing out of the ordinary." Kaidou answered.

"These things always seem to happen." Ryoga hung his head and sighed. "Well let's go find that naïve brother of mine before he gets himself into trouble."

* * *

Echizen head was swimming. There was no difference in his temperature from earlier but he had an overwhelming feeling of vertigo. He probably stayed with the group but he didn't want to talk about himself because that was all anyone seemed to do and it was getting very annoying.

He went through an old building and saw the plants that Momo had sprouted, half tempted to keep walking over it to annoy him but decided it would probably bring his alone time to an end quicker than he would want. He kept walking for a little and entered another rundown building that looked like a school. It was strange because the blackboard that he saw had fairly recent writing on it, though he could barely make out the words due to poor penmanship. If there was someone living there like Kikumaru said there could've been, that was probably where they spent their time.

As he got a closer look, he was able to make out the words _savior, hope,_ and _danger._ There were also several old, tattered books about the M-Gene scattered about; pages were ripped out of some where others had specific words highlighted and circled. Whoever was there seemed to be forming a theory about something, possibly how the M-Gene came into being or even how to stop it.

A chill went down his back. The whole idea was creepy. When he turned to leave the building, he saw a figure standing behind him. He involuntarily took a step back. It was an old man; crazy salt and pepper hair that definitely needed to be washed, torn clothing that looked like it would fall apart at a mere though. The thing that put Echizen off was his eyes. At first glance they seemed normal but when they locked with his, they grew wide and had a completely crazy appearance.

"It's you! It's you! You've finally come!" The old man's voice made him sound raspy and the speed at which he spoke make him difficult to understand. "I can't believe you're here!"

Echizen raised his eyebrow and took another step back. "Who- are you?"

"He's spoken he's spoken! The one to end it has spoken to me!" He jumped and seemingly dashed towards Echizen. Surprised by the old man's speed, Echizen lost his balance and fell back. "Tell me O Savior, what is your plan? Hm? What is your plan?"

"What are you talking about?" Echizen still moved backwards but found himself at a wall.

The old man shoved his face into Echizen and peered into his eyes. "Those eyes, your eyes! It's just as it was foretold! The savior will come and his eyes will be of gold!" He jumped away from Echizen and started laughing.

Being thoroughly weirded out, Echizen got to his feet and slowly started walking from the building. He didn't feel any ill will coming from the old man but he would rather not stick around and wait to see if it was true or not. Just as he was outside, hands gripped his shoulders.

"But not all is well O Savior." This time the old man's voice was slower and deeper. "Savior can't control his own power can he?"

That struck a chord. He turned to face the old man "How do you know that?" There was something off about him, and it wasn't just the way he looked or acted.

"This is no good, no good!" His tone went back to normal. "Savior must _accept,_ Savior must _learn_ , and if he doesn't, everything, and everyone, will _burn_." He let out a terrifying laugh. "Go now Savior. Your friends have come." He ran back into the building but his voice still echoed outside. "Savior must learn or everyone will die, one- by- one."

Echizen stood outside the building, slack jawed and wide-eyed; not to mention thoroughly confused at the encounter he just had. Questions were popping into his head; who was that old man, how did he know so much about him, and most importantly, what did he mean about people dying if he didn't learn to control his magic? Part of him wanted to go back and seek him out to try and clarify wat he meant but thought better when he heard people walking up to him.

"There you are." Ryoga said with a huff. "Momoshiro-san said someone had stepped into the barrier near you."

He gave another look towards the building then went back to his apathetic attitude. "I haven't seen anyone."

Ryoga sighed. "As long as you're alright I don't see a problem then."

"Let's get going then." Tezuka said. "If there is a storm coming, I doubt anyone would want to be caught in it."

No one saw room to argue so they started walking again. When they reached the edge of the town, Tezuka, Fuji, and Inui began to talk strategy, Ryoga was creating small animals from his ice which entertained and brought up several questions from Oishi and Kawamura, and as usual Kaidou and Momo were arguing about something completely irrelevant to anything around them.

Echizen had been at the back of the group with Kikumaru, not really caring about being with the energetic soldier. He kept telling him stories about how the group met and missions that they'd gone on in the past and it helped him get his mind off of things. All of a sudden, Echizen got a chill and looked back to see the old man waving and watching them. He had a disturbing smile on his face and was laughing a bit which made him shutter inwardly. Just as quick as he was there, Echizen blinked and he was gone. He stumbled a bit at what he saw, or more so at what wasn't there anymore.

"Are you okay Ochibi?" Kikumaru looked back to where the younger boy was staring. "Did you see something?"

Echizen mentally sighed. "No, it was nothing. Just- tired."

"Do you want me to carry you?" Kikumaru was serious despite the gleefulness in his tone. Echizen rolled his eyes and kept walking. "Ne Ochibi-" The gleefulness was dropped. "Why are you scared of your power?"

"What are you talking about?" Echizen faced scrunched in confusion. "I'm not scared of my power. I can't control it."

"But why do you think you can't control it? It's in your body. Despite the fact that you never got firsthand knowledge of how to use it, you should still be able to understand it because it's a part of you and you can't change that. It shouldn't even matter if you have an excess amount of power."

Echizen looked at the ground as the two walked together. Kikumaru had a good point; he should know his body better than anyone and yet he couldn't do anything with his power. He always just thought it was because he had been born with a greater amount than normal and if that was factored in with him… being the second child in the family to be born with the M-Gene…

Now actually been in deep thought about it, his life was filled with _be careful, don't let anyone know you have it, watch out for Chargarde, it was strange you were born with it, if you think about it- it's a little creepy_ \- perhaps… he was scared of having powers. His subconscious had begun to form a barrier against it, telling him it was dangerous.

He looked back at Kikumaru, who had been staring at him. It was strange that the train of thought had come from him; the happy-go-lucky speedster who seemed to lighten the mood. He would've expected it from Inui or Tezuka but not him. "You're a weird person Kikumaru-san."

A question mark bounced off his head. "What do you mean?" Echizen merely smirked and kept walking. "Nya Ochibi tell me!"

* * *

After several more hours of walking, the sun had set and everyone decided it was time to make camp. They had gone through and reached the edge of another town and rather than stay in one of the relatively decent buildings, they opted for a small, rundown farm house near a barren field. They took the same safety precautions as the previous time they stopped except Momo didn't place any of his plants around because quite frankly it would look suspicious of there will little bits of green in a perfect circle on a dead field.

They all stayed up, talking about random things except Echizen who seemed to pass out when he found a suitable spot to his likings. No one really cared though seeing as he could probably use the rest and sleep off the remainder of his fever.

When things started to settle down, Kawamura had taken first watch while everyone else got some sleep. They would arrive at their destination in the evening of the next day and finally start preparing for their assault on Chargarde's headquarters.

* * *

 **Bah. This was a weird place to stop but I really don't know how to continue on. Next chapter will have action in it and hopefully less angst oh my god I'm sorry for that.**

 **Well there it is. Thanks to everyone that's been reviewing. It helps a lot.**

 **Please forgive grammar and spelling and lateness and corniness and stupidness and laziness and the horrible amount of angst oh my god.**

 **Hope ya liked it! See ya later!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay okay I hope I can do what I'm planning for this one because if I don't I'm going to be very disappointed in myself because the scene is so beautiful in my head but writing it seems to make it come out as the essays I wrote in like first grade.**

 **Heeeey how's everyone doing? Hope you've been enjoying the story and I've been updating it regularly. Thanks to everyone that's been sticking with me.** **  
**

 **So just for reference, I'm like very directionally challenged and have no clue about time or distance for anything but what I do know is it takes about 13-14hours to get from Fukui to Osaka when walking. I don't know why that's relevant to anything but just in case anyone was wonder why it's taking two days to get to their destination.**

 **Also they're not going through big cities but more so small little towns where like every other plot of land was use for farming.**

 **Here's chapter seven. Enjoy!**

* * *

Echizen woke with a start in a hot sweat. He looked around in a panic to see everyone sleeping peacefully. He took a few deep breaths and calmed himself. _It was just a dream._ He thought to himself. He wiped the sweat from his brow and noticed there was a set of eyes that had been looking at him.

Kaidou had been on watch and looked at Echizen with a slight hint of worry, wondering what nightmare had caused the boy to wake like that. "Are you alright?" He asked in a low tone to not wake the others. Rather than give him an answer, Echizen got up from where he had fallen asleep and went to sit next to the older male. Kaidou didn't mind; having a little brother himself, he was used to seeing someone need comfort after having a bad dream.

The two sat in silence for a while, enjoying it seeing as it was something that seemed to be a rare thing to come across with their group. Kaidou would steal a glance at Echizen every few minutes to see if there was any change but he just sat there with his head in his hands, looking forward at nothing. He wanted to ask if Echizen want to talk about the dream he had but figured it was better not to press the matter seeing as the impression he got when they first met. After a few more minutes of silence, the boy spoke but not about what he expected.

"Kaidou-san, are there people who can see into the future?"

He stared at the boy who continued to look forward. In all sincerity, there have been no records of anyone being born with an M-Gene of Foresight. "Why do you ask?"

Echizen stayed quiet for a second. "I met someone in the previous town." Kaidou's brow rose at that. "An old man; he knew who I was and that I was having problems with my power and kept calling me the _savior_. It looked like- he had been staying in the school building. There were books about the M-Gene scattered everywhere, theories written on the board- he looked like he knew what he was talking about but, it was like he was crazy."

"Why did you wait until now to tell someone?" Kaidou crossed his arms, a bit perplexed.

"I just thought he was a lunatic." Echizen looked up through the broken roof. "In my nightmare- we had gone to Chargarde's Headquarters… everything was on fire. There were bodies of people I'd never seen but felt like I had some sort of connection to, Chargarde and Cardinal soldiers and scientists lied in pools of blood, innocent people weren't able to escape the flames; all of you were dead and your blood was on my hands. It was- my fault."

Kaidou stared at the boy, confused and surprised to see him visibly shaking. "It was just a dream wasn't it?"

"He told me that if I didn't learn to use and control my power, everyone will burn. I can't think it was just a dream Kaidou-san. He _knew_ who I was, like some prophecy foretold it or something."

Kaidou sighed. "If you're really worried about that then the best thing to do would be for you to learn how to control it right?" He patted him on the back. "We can show you a few things while we're on the road tomorrow. Get some sleep."

Echizen smirked. Somehow it didn't seem as strange to talk to the older male as he would have thought. He went back to where he had been sleeping before and lay back down.

"Echizen." Kaidou spoke one last time. "You will be telling everyone tomorrow what you just told me."

He threw his hands behind his head. "Hai."

* * *

When everyone woke, much to Echizen's displeasure, the sun was only starting to rise. He refused to fully wake until they were ready to leave, though that didn't stop the efforts of the others trying to rouse him. When everyone was indeed ready to set off again, once the sun had risen a bit more, Ryoga had taken it upon himself to get his brother up by more or less kicking him until he got irritated enough to retaliate but before he could do anything, a rice ball was shoved in his face.

"Come on let's go." Ryoga pulled him up. "You can sleep once we reach wherever it is we're going.

That hardly made Echizen feel better but nonetheless he slowly ambled towards the group and munched on his breakfast. His eyes met with Kaidou's, knowing that the older male was asking when he was going to address the issue they spoke about only a few hours before. Echizen waved his hand in front of his face and shook his head. He would tell them just not right after he had woken up.

After a few hours of walking, they had stopped to take another rest. Echizen huffed as he once again met Kaidou's eyes. He wanted to put it off until even later but knew the others would catch on eventually seeing as Kaidou kept trying to draw it out of him.

"Minna," He addressed the group. "There's something I have to tell you."

Everyone more or less gathered around as he began to speak. He told them what he had told Kaidou, about finding the old man and how he acted and that he actually knew things about him, telling about some sort of prophecy and how he was the supposed savior. He told them about his dream and that it seemed too real to actually be a dream. He also brought up what he and Kikumaru had talked about the day before, about power and control which seemed to intertwine with the old man's view of things and helped validate what he was thinking.

While the group took all the information in, Ryoga smiled softly. His brother seemed to be maturing. He never used to openly admit when something scared him, nor did he ask for help on anything. He started confiding in people instead of trying to work out problems on his own. It was strange in a way, but also relieving knowing that he was willing to share his burden with people.

"Why didn't you tell us yesterday?" Momo asked while putting him in a headlock. "Knowing that would've been helpful."

"What did you want me to say? _I found an old man who says I'm going to kill everyone?_ I doubt anyone would want to hear that." Echizen answered. "I didn't believe him at first."

"You needed time to process." Inui said. "I can't say it was the right thing to keep it from us until now but-" He looked at the sky.

"The storm got closer." Kawamura finished. The sunny sky that had been there earlier was being replaced with dark clouds. "We would've been caught in it."

Tezuka sighed. "The only thing we can do is keep going. Echizen, we will do everything in our power to make sure it doesn't happen. We should reach our destination by night fall with no interferences. We can instruct you on how to control your magic on the way."

Echizen perked a bit at that. He expected to be scolded about withholding information or something but if anything; Momo was the one who was unofficially in charge of his punishment seeing as he was the one that picked on him.

When they started moving again, Echizen was with Inui. He was explaining in a very broad way of how he would be able to gauge the amount of power that went into his attacks.

"Imagine a range; the different temperature settings are like the amount of power you put into an attack, the lowest temperature being the weakest and highest being the strongest. You're able to see the temperature you want and can adjust it accordingly and if you practice enough, you'll be able to set your own power as such. Once you're able to do that, you should be able to start working on multiple attacks with different power levels."

"You're emotions also tie into your power source." Kikumaru said. "Think of your power being divided into groups and having emotions assigned to those groups; happiness, anger, sorrow, and fear. To fully understand and control your power, you'll need to practice spells while in one of those mindsets. Just like when we found you, you are scared and your power was out of control. If you learn to control your emotions, you'll be able to control your power."

Echizen thought. Inui's analogy was perfect and Kikumaru's explanation helped him understand what they were going to try to make happen but there was still the matter of how it was going to happen.

"As much as that helped me further understand, I can't exactly turn my emotions on and off with a flick of a switch."

"It's true that it's easier said than done…" Inui trialed off, kind of at a loss for words seeing as he had no experience in the matter.

Momo called from behind them. "Okay think of it like this; each burner is a different emotion right? Each emotion has its own look and feel to it. If you're able to hone in on one of those emotions, it should be easy for you to control and manipulate." Echizen raised an eyebrow. "Here I'll show you." He took a breath and held out his hand. _"Sero."_

A little ways away from where he was pointing, a vine started to slowly grow from the ground. Once it stopped, it started to bloom with several red flowers.

"Happiness." He gestured to another spot and said the same spell. Another vine grew but at an alarming rate; it was thin and looked like it would snap with a single touch. Large purple flowers bloomed all over it and soon it was surrounded. "Fear." He did it twice more; anger having a large, girthy vine with thorns covering it and sorrow being a small sprout with dying buds on it. "Seeing as we're in no immediate danger, this is really all I can show you but it's the basics that even a shorty like you would be able to understand."

Indeed. The demonstration helped tremendously. He would've have guessed that different emotions caused different attacks though now that he's seen it, it would seem obvious but there was still something bothering him. "How are you able to hone in on one emotion?"

"Think of a memory or an image that resembles the emotion you want to mirror in your attack." Momo gestured to the vines. "The stronger the image the stronger your spell will be or the hotter the burner on the range will be. All those were just from slight memories; small ones that don't really impact me as much but still strong enough to make a difference."

"You should also factor in that you don't necessarily have to say spells to get your power to work." Fuji added. "Even if it's easier for you to do, when you begin to practice you should focus on actually dictating spells to get a handle on everything and when you have that handle, you can practice without saying spells."

It made sense. He didn't think it would've been so simple; understanding the concept of the M-Gene as a whole and now knowing the 'proper' way of setting a spell. He looked down at his hands, deciding if he should take the time to try an attack but nature had another idea. The air was filled with a loud boom of thunder that made the group stop.

"Looks like the storm is catching up with us." Oishi said.

"It's still a few hours away." Echizen said.

"As is our destination." Tezuka added.

"We better pick up our pace then if we want to make it before the storm hits." Kawamura said.

"Ne Echizen, is it possible that you're able to control storms?" Fuji asked.

"The only thing he's good for during storms is detecting where they're coming from and acting like a giant lightning rod." Ryoga ruffled his hair.

"You absorb the lightning?" Kaidou asked with a raised eyebrow.

Echizen shrugged. "If that's the easiest way to put it then yeah. I didn't even realize the first time it happened." The idea of trying an attack was pushed away. If anything he would just bring the storm closer to them and put them at a greater risk of getting struck.

"Let's get going. If the storm has sped up then we need to if want a pickup." They started walking again, stopping only once to eat and get their bearings. Luckily they were able to find shelter in an abandoned building.

"How are you holding up?" Ryoga asked his brother who was leaning on a doorway to the outside. He held a hand to his head. "You don't feel like you have a fever anymore."

Echizen brushed his brother's hand away. "I feel fine. It was probably just a bug."

"Or the stress of everything that's happened in the past few days. I'm glad to see you've calmed down but you're always rather somber when the weather's like this."

"You get like this when it snows." He smirked.

"You got me there… seriously Chibisuke, do you feel alright with your magic?"

"After the explanations and demonstrations I feel like I have a better handle on what to do. I'd try it out now but I'd probably just bring the storm down on us." He furrowed his eyebrows. "Why haven't you told me any of this?"

Ryoga shrugged. "I always thought you were just stupid." Echizen frowned. "I didn't want to put you in a position that would put you in more danger than we're already in. Not knowing how to control your power made you less likely to try and use them which kept us under the radar. I _do_ have your best interest in mind believe it or not."

Echizen smiled at that. "You would've been a horrible teacher anyways." Ryoga smirked and pulled his brother into a headlock and started ruffling his hair.

"What's up Mamoshi? Scared of a little thunder?" Momo teased as Kaidou seemed to jump at the rumble outside. Kaidou merely ignored him, even if thunder wasn't his most favorite thing, there was no way he was going to admit it.

"Momo let Kaidou concentrate on his report." Oishi said, knowing that Kaidou was trying to focus on his scouts that had been roaming.

"I just hope we'll be in contact before the storm hits." Kawamura said. "It would be horrible to get stuck in it."

"We'll be there." Inui answered. "With my calculations and Echizen's ability, we should be at the facility before the storm hits."

And right on que, just to mock Inui, it started raining.

"Inui, I think your numbers were a bit off." Fuji snickered. Inui deadpanned and sweat dropped.

"Mou Ochibi I thought you said we still had a few hours." Kikumaru whined.

"We do." Echizen peered out of the doorway. "This isn't from the storm."

Tezuka's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"There's something out there." Kaidou finally said after several moment of silence.

"Positions. You two-" Tezuka gestured to the brothers. "-stay in here unless I say otherwise. Oishi say with them." The three of them nodded and went out of sight farther into the building. The seven soldiers slowly left the building, weapons loaded and ready to fire if needs be. The first thing they noticed was Echizen was right; the rain wasn't from the storm because it seemed to end a few feet from the building.

"Tezuka." Inui pointed towards a figure standing just outside of the circle.

"Identify yourself." Tezuka ordered as he aimed his gun as the figure. "What is your purpose here?"

"Isn't it rude to ask one's name before introducing yourself or did that die out along with everything else in this god forsaken country?" The voice was that of a male.

He was quiet for a moment before answering. "Tezuka Kunimitsu, Soldier of Cardinal's Japanese Division and Captain of the Seigaku Special Forces Unit."

The figure started advancing. "Ota Kenji, Number Six in Chargarde's Retrieval Team- Japanese Division." He was now in the down pour but the rain seemed to make a bubble and avoided him. "Now that you know who I am, I'm guessing you know why I'm here." There was a pregnant pause. "He's in that building isn't he?"

"Stay away from Ochibi!" Kikumaru all but shouted.

"Do you understand how important he is to science and learning how the gene came into being?"

" _Do you_ understand that he's a human being and not some lab rat?" Kaidou spit out.

"Of course _I_ realize that but I have my orders, just as you have yours. The thing is, if I don't bring him back then I'm the one who becomes a lab rat." The rain stopped, all the drops froze in midair. "That's something I'd rather avoid."

"Maybe if you didn't side with them in the first place you wouldn't have been put at such a risk." Fuji snapped.

Ota shook his head and held out his hand. "What a pity. _Asta_." The droplets turned, all aimed for the regulars. They started getting pelted with water. "I'll leave you to that while I fetch the kid."

"W-wait!" The water was too difficult to get through. If they so much as opened their eyes they risked losing one. "Damnit! _Clypeum!"_ Momo slammed his hands into the ground and a sphere of dirt surrounded them.

"Clever." Ota snorted. "At least they'll be no distractions." He walked over to the building when the ground rumbled. Vines shot out of the ground and blocked his path. The grounds behind him also become dust as several prairie dogs, courtesy of Kaidou, popped up.

Momo (still inside his bubble). "We may not be able to see you but I can sense where you are."

Ota scoffed. "Figures. At least I get to have a little fun before heading back." He jumped out of the way as the vines started attacking. The prairie dogs went back underground, making tunnels right below the surface and in turn making the ground unstable for Ota to land on.

"How long will you be able to keep this up?" Inui gestured to the wall.

Momo huffed. "The water keeps turning the outer most layers to mud. That on top of the vines, not too much longer."

"Would- you be able to harden a section long enough for a shot?" Fuji asked. "Taka-san, with your power you would be able to punch out that section of the wall and Inui could take a shot at him."

Momo smirked. "I think I can manage that."

"Not if he manages to get his water back on us. We need him to be stunned." Kaidou said.

"I can do that." Kikumaru smiled.

"Once I start strengthening this portion, the opposite wall will get weak and most likely collapse. You can get out that way Eiji-san."

Everyone nodded. "We have a plan. Be ready in five-"

" _Fortifico."_ Momo raised his hand to a portion of the wall to strengthen it and the wall opposite started to deteriorate.

"Four-"

Kikumaru was bouncing. _"Turbine."_ He took off as soon as the hole was big enough for him to get through.

"Three-"

Inui readied his rifle. "Chance of success: 93%."

"Two-"

Kawamura pulled his gloves on. "DORIA. LET'S GOOOO."

"One-"

The whole back of the shield was basically gone but couldn't be seen from where Ota was.

"Now!"

With a shout, Kawamura punched through the wall, sending bits of rock flying towards Ota. He turned to see Inui's rifle pointed at him. "No you don't-" He shot his hand towards them but was knocked off balance by Kikumaru who zoomed behind him. The sound of Inui's shot boomed in the small area. Ota's water stopped and fell to the ground. Inui's bullet hit its mark as Ota also fell.

They moved slowly towards him. Tezuka signaled for the others to stop while he approached the body. Ota was lying on the ground with a hole in his chest and a puddle of blood forming underneath him. "Good shot Inui."

The others joined him. "You expected any less?"

"Tezuka." Oishi peered out from the building. "Is everyone alright?" Tezuka signaled it was alright for the three of them to come outside. Oishi tensed at the sight of the body. "It's always a shame to see."

"There was nothing we could do." Kawamura said. "Momo couldn't hold that shield forever."

Echizen took a look at the body and turned away. Another person had died because of him.

"What now?" Ryoga asked. "I don't exactly want to wait here with a dead body outside."

"How are you doing Momo?" Kawamura asked.

"Tired." He sighed. "But I'll manage."

"Coming from the one who does nothing but complain about not wanting to walk anywhere." Kaidou mumbled.

"What was that you stupid snake?"

The group started moving once more. Echizen looked back to where the body was. It was unsettling, knowing that if he (Ota) wasn't killed, he most certainly would've tried to kidnap and take him to Chargarde's Head Quarters where he would be experimented on and ultimately wind up dead. He looked forward and sighed. His mind went to what the old man from the day prior, back to how he said everyone would die if he didn't control his powers. That seemed to be the first death intertwined with it.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a splash. He stopped walking and whipped around; Ota's body was gone.

"Ryoga…"

At his brother's call, he stopped and turned to him. He didn't bother asking why he stopped because he too noticed the missing body.

Everything seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. Before either brother had time to register what was happening, Echizen was surrounded, yet again, in a sphere of water.

* * *

 **HA CLIFFHANGER.**

 **Okay so I'm not gonna lie, I've been neglecting this because I lost inspiration for a bit and started writing others so that's why updates are weird. But I seem to be getting back in the swing of things. There should be lots of action and stupid things after this chapter.**

 **Okay so I've started the next chapter and I'm thinking** _ **I could've put the first part in this one**_ **because I'm like halfway done and I still haven't revealed the school and I'm laughing about that but then it would've been so long and it would take even longer for the next chapter to come out.**

 **Please forgive grammar and spelling and lateness and stupidness and corniness and the horrible amount of angst and I'm sorry.**

 **Hope ya liked it. See ya later!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Eeey okay so I promise this is being written right after the previous chapter. The idea is fresh in my head so it should go smoothly for a while.**

 **Hope everyone's been enjoying it so far. I know updates are pretty haywire but the story's getting done! Also I hope no one's peeved about me not translating the spells they use. I'm not doing it one because I'm lazy and two it's kinda implied which the attack description.**

 **Okay so I guess this is where a school is introduced so please forgive if their personalities aren't exact. I'll try to improve them in further chapters.**

 **Here's chapter eight. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ryoga shouted as his brother was engulfed. The others all turned to see the same thing they'd seen a few days ago on the training field, only this time the attack wouldn't be halted by their yelling.

"Honestly, did you really believe it to be that easily?" Ota's voiced echoed through the air but he was nowhere to be seen.

Tezuka gritted his teeth. "Inui!"

"I don't understand." Inui was baffled. "There is no way he could have survive that shot."

Ryoga watched as his brother struggled. It wasn't like the first time he was trapped; then he was calm, as if daring Arai to keep him in there. This time he was panicked, hell from what he was told when the two of them were first contacted, he was horrified. If he didn't figure a way out, he would become one of those people in the cages.

"You can't free him." Ota appeared next to Ryoga. "Not while he's in my grasp." Before he could react, Ryoga was flung back into the regulars by a jet of water.

"How are you standing?" Oishi shouted as he peered to the injury he had received only to see it wasn't there. "How did-"

"' _Emotions are said to be the embodiment of the soul and that feeds into the general controlling of the M-Gene.'_ That's the most basic thing everyone should know. Through Chargarde's research we've been able to prove it. Control your emotions and you control your gene; make it bend to your will." No one expected what happened next. Ota suddenly became transparent, the very water he was able to control.

"That's not possible." Fuji said.

"Quite the contrary, this is very much possible. See, everyone with the gene has an emotional mindset that allows them to attack at full power. Mine is anger and you all just really seem to piss me off." Jets of water bolted up from the ground. "I don't even need to cast spells in this state which _I'm sure_ is another surprise to you."

No one said a word. Apparently Chargarde had no idea Echizen was able to cast spells with just a glance. Ryoga glanced back to his brother and nodded.

Ota saw. "Surprised he's still conscious? See it would be a problem if anything happened to him so I'm putting oxygen in the water. And shorty, I know you have electric powers." The water spouts crossed over the regulars. "You try to shock me and they also get it. Then again- they'll get it anyways."

The spouts formed into basketball sized spheres and started circling. Momo was exhausted from the previous attack so he wasn't able to put another bubble around them and Kikumaru, Oishi, and Kaidou didn't exactly have the right gene to produce a shield.

"This has been fun and all but we really need to get going." With a swish of his finger, Ota let the orbs fly at them. Echizen felt helpless. If it were any other occasion, he would've let his magic run wild but he wouldn't risk the others getting hurt. He watched as the water pelted them until Ota called a halt, only after a dull mist had formed. He scoffed at what he saw; Ryoga stood with his arms extended, lightly panting with piles of snow surrounding them.

"Did you forget water freezes?" Ryoga taunted.

"Oh no. What ever will I do?" Ota's voice was melancholy. He created more, smaller spheres and had them rain down on the group for a longer period of time. Once again when he stopped, no one was injured and Ryoga was standing there with his arms extended. "I'm getting irritated."

" _Oh no. What ever will you do?"_

"Ryoga-san, a spell of that magnitude requires an immense amount of power." Inui whispered.

"I'm alright Inui-san." He held his hand over the snow that was piled in front of him. _"Lancea."_ The snow on the ground formed into a lance.

"What are you gonna do? Challenge him to a jousting competition?" Momo frustratingly asked.

"Something like that." He picked up the lance and looked at Ota. "There's nothing my ice can't freeze."

Ota scoffed and more or less stood on top of the sphere he was holding Echizen in. "You won't do it, not when your precious baby brother is in there. You freeze me and you freeze him."

Ryoga smiled and shook his head. "That's the idea." With incredible speed, he threw the lance, not at Ota but at his brother.

The moment the tip of the lance it the water, it began to freeze. Ota, being in shock that Ryoga would actually freeze his own brother, stood there dumbfounded. He only seemed to make sense of the whole scene when the sphere solidified and he was frozen up to his midriff. He laughed and threw his head back. "I don't believe it. Out of all the ways to go-" He didn't get to finish his sentence.

The regulars stood completely still, astonished at what just unfolded.

"Come on Chibisuke." Ryoga whispered.

It seemed like an eternity before anything happened. Everyone was stunned out of shock where a loud clap of thunder echoed through the sky. It had started to rain. The storm had quickened its pace and caught up with them. There was another clap of thunder then what Ryoga was hoping for; a large lightning bolt shot down from the sky right on to the sphere which shattered on impact. Ryoga let out a relieved sigh as he saw his brother crumple to the ground and start coughing.

"Don't ex-pect me to- do something like that again." Echizen huffed. "If I get hypothermia, I'm blaming you."

Ryoga placed his hand on his brother's head. "Don't make me _do_ it again."

"What just happened?" Momo blurted out.

"Echizen are you alright?" Oishi rushed to his side.

"Please tell me that wasn't something you just made up on the spot." Kawamura hung his head in relief.

"Not exactly." Ryoga rubbed the back of his next. "I mean it worked once before…"

Kaidou sweat dropped. " _Once?"_

"What's it matter now?" Fuji smiled. There was a sound of an engine in the distance. "It seems we have company again."

A large truck came to a halt in front of everyone and someone jumped out of the back. "Tezuka-sama." He saluted. "The Captain has informed us you'd appreciate an extraction."

Tezuka glanced at his party, everyone was tired and soaking wet. "Very much so."

The soldier went and opened the back of the truck and everyone piled in. "As long as we don't encounter anything on the way, the ride should be swift."

"Thank you." Tezuka shed off his gun and took a seat next to Inui and the truck started going.

It wasn't too long before they were told they would be arriving at their destination. Momo had drifted to sleep, his head leaning on Kawamura. No one blamed him; he had used the most power that day and was well due a decent sleep. Ryoga had his arm slung around his brother's shoulders; the both of them were fighting off sleep. Echizen was also most likely freezing. He joked about hypothermia but the possibility was very likely that he could catch it seeing he was frozen, even for a few seconds, and then proceeded to get drenched in the storm.

Tezuka peeked out of the flap of the truck. They had just passed an outer boundary into the city that their companions' occupied. He let his shoulders sag and the tension seemed to fade slightly. They were in good hands. At least he would have some time to relax.

Another few minutes of driving and they arrived. After waking Momo, they piled out of the truck and stood in the shadow of a building; an old school, chunks missing out of the walls, windows shattered, but well-fortified.

"Tezuka-sama. Captain has instructed me to show you where you'll be staying."

Tezuka nodded. "Thank you." The group wandered into the building getting looks from everyone they passed. Most of them were sent towards the two brothers, the older one attempting to keep the younger from falling over as they walked.

"Captain sends his apologies of not coming to meet you himself. He and the rest of our Special Forces squad had to make a trip and should be back by the days' end."

"Not at all. We had run into a slight hindrance so we're grateful to have even had an extraction."

The guard led them through the base and into a decent sized room that would hold all of them. Momo and Echizen immediately went and collapsed on the beds that were there. The guard told them to stay put and relax until their captain got there to speak with them. Everyone shed off their gear and took a bed.

"So what do you think?" Fuji asked the room.

"It's not uncommon of for people to have such control of their power," Inui started. "But to be able to become the element you possess- it's unheard of."

"Chargarde is known for experimenting on people." Kikumaru said. "What if they've gone so far as being able to physically altercate what makes us human?"

"Wouldn't put it passed them." Kaidou added. "They don't even see the people they capture as people, just tools in their research."

"The thing they value most is power and they'll do anything to achieve it." Kawamura crossed his arms. "That's why they want Echizen. They probably see him as the missing link to attaining ultimate power."

"Indeed; Echizen is a valuable factor which is why we won't let Chargarde get him." Tezuka said.

"Ryoga-san, what did you mean earlier?" Oishi asked.

Ryoga rubbed the back of his neck. "It was a few months ago. We had come across what we thought was a caravan. The people were willing to share what they had and offered to escort us to wherever we were planning to go. We were with them for three days before we realized it was a Chargarde patrol, most likely finding people like us then taking them back to their base. We tried to get away the next night but- we found ourselves surrounded. They separated us and I- lost it. In the span of a few seconds, everyone in the area was frozen solid, Chibisuke included."

"I don't know how long I stood there, a haunting realization of what I had just done. The ice around him suddenly started to crack and a bolt of electricity shot into the sky. He was sitting on the ground, coughing and shivering but alright." He smirked. "He started to yell at me for trying to make him into a statue after that."

"So basically it was a fluke?"

Ryoga snorted. "Pretty much." Everyone sweat dropped.

"He was able to control it though." Fuji pointed out. "In such a little time, even though it was just that, it's something."

"He should be able to progress even more while we're here." Tezuka added. "Everyone get some rest. We'll have several things to do before we leave here." Everyone settled, more or less chatting quietly until they drifted off.

* * *

Hours went by and everyone was sleeping peacefully, that is until Echizen woke up. He was a bit disoriented, wondering where and why he was there but quickly remembered it was the base they had set out for. He quietly got up from his bed and went out the door, in search of the thing that was the reason he woke up: the toilet.

Unlike a normal person who would just ask someone where it was, Echizen took it upon himself to explore. The building was a school, even if it had been remodeled into an army base there had to be a bathroom somewhere. He looked out the windows as he walked. It was pouring out. The storm was terrible, but usually when he detected it, it had meant it would be a big one and considering it was three days away when he first sensed it, there was no wonder why it was so bad.

Wandering around for a few more minutes, he was able to find the bathroom. When he was finished he began his trek back to the room and became lost in thought. Once again, he was useless while fighting. It was always when he was told he would be responsible for hurting someone he cared about that he went ridged. That feeling of guilt would be his downfall. It was just like with Arai; besides the petty nature of his outbreak, he didn't want to live with the guilt knowing that he was hurt a comrade. Whenever he thought that, it was like his magic would freeze and refuse to work for him.

Thinking back to what Momo had told him about honing in on an emotion, guilt would factor in with sorrow somewhere. So in theory he needed to work to control the sadness he feels when in a fight. But going by that logic, he _does_ feel empathetic towards the people that were his enemies but that didn't stop him from being able to attack them. There were certain levels that had to be gone through before- was guilt his automatic shut down?

Why was guilt such a big thing? What was it that made him completely stop? Was there something he did that he couldn't remember?

Too confusing; all of it. The whole venture was hopeless.

The only good thing to have come out of that day was he was able to perform his escape perfectly. What emotion was overwhelming him then; panic? That would fit under fear but it didn't make sense. Last time he was scared he knocked eight or more people out with single strikes but there was also Arai where he couldn't attack despite the panic he had felt but then only a few hours prior he was panicked and was able to control his power perfectly…

Echizen ruffed his hair and groaned frustratingly. He didn't understand any of it. To think Momo of all people understood it, it made him feel inferior. But Momo did probably have proper education and training. He sighed, nothing he could do about it except learn and try to understand how to do everything.

As he rounded a corner, he bumped into someone. He mumbled a quick sorry and kept going on his way but said person he bumped into obviously had a different idea.

"Is that any way to speak to a superior officer?"

Echizen stopped and turned towards the person he bumped into; tall, short black hair, face only a mother could love, classic for a military man.

He gave a quick eye roll and over exaggeratedly bowed. "I'm sorry to have interrupted your walk, _sir._ " He then turned around and kept walking but was stopped yet again by a hand on his shoulder.

"What was that?" Echizen glanced at the hand that was holding his shoulder and shrugged it off. He watched as the man's eyes widened slightly, apparently surprised at what he had just done.

"Sorry _sir_ but I have to get back." He once again started walking back towards the room, relieved that the man hadn't tried to stop him that time.

The man glared at Echizen as he walked away. _New recruit? No respect for superior officers. I'll deal with him tomorrow._

* * *

Echizen quietly entered the dully lit room and made his way back to his bed, hoping he wouldn't wake anyone up.

"Oi where did you go?" Momo's hushed whisper cut through the silence. Echizen just lay back on his bed, no indication of answering. "You shouldn't just go wandering around, even if this is an allied base. No one knows who we are yet."

"Places like these are annoying." Echizen answered in an equally hushed tone. "Everyone thinks they're better than you."

"You did something didn't you?" Though Momo couldn't see it, Echizen smirked. "Honestly, the people here were gracious enough to help us. Don't get into trouble and make them regret it. You'll give us a bad name."

"Will you two shut up already?" Ryoga's muffed tone sounded through the room. "Someone people didn't pass out right when we got here."

* * *

The next morning was gloomy. The storm had calmed down a bit but it wasn't going to stop anytime in the near future. Echizen didn't mind. Ryoga was right, he always felt content on those types of days; factor in that they also weren't awoken at the crack of dawn and you could say Echizen was downright happy.

When they had finished their breakfast, they were escorted to the training grounds to meet one of Cardinal's other Special Forces squad, arguably ' _The Best'_ but everyone thought they were the best. Apparently there was competition between different SF squads through Cardinal's branches meaning the ones stationed in Japan were competing with each other and ones in the United States and wherever else Cardinal had bases. It was like they were sports teams competing for a championship or world title but when considering the line of work they're in, why not try and factor in a little fun?

The so called _training grounds_ had been an old gymnasium that had been widened. There were scorch marks all over the place and what looked like holes in the walls and roof that had been recently patched. There were people sparring in the center and a group of eight people watching from the sidelines, one of them who Echizen recognized. One of them called to the people sparring, telling them they had done enough and to leave.

"Tezuka-san, it's been a while." The voice that called to Tezuka belonged to a man; tall, slender, dark blue hair. "I take it you were pleased with the extraction we sent out."

Tezuka shook his hand. "Yes, thank you. If it hadn't been for that, we would've been caught in the storm."

"And from the information we've received from Central, you have someone with you that would've acted like a lightning rod." Echizen twitched as the man locked his eyes on him.

"That would've been the least of our problems. Chargarde sent their Number 6 after him and I can almost guarantee there will be more attempts while we're here."

"And _I_ can guarantee that we'll do whatever we can to make sure nothing happens." He looked between the two brothers. "Allow me to introduce myself: Yukimura Seiichi, Captain of a Cardinal Special Forces Unit. I also possess the M-Gene for telekinesis."

Him? A captain? That guy looked more suited for a role like Oishi's.

"Echizen Ryoga. This is my kid brother Ryoma. Please look after us." Ryoga bowed and pulled Echizen down with him. The two rose from their bow. Echizen looked up at the man he had seen the previous night and mentally smirked at the displeased look on his face.

"I'm sure we'll have a good time with each other." Yukimura smiled. "From what I understand, we'll be helping you learn to control your powers." Echizen slowly nodded. "With our contribution, you should be able to master them in no time."

There was something in Yukimura's tone that made him shiver, not like an evil or harmful thing but something along the lines of a mother indirectly threatening with punishment if a child didn't finish their chores.

The looks of the people standing behind him seemed less than thrilled. Something made Echizen wish that they had been caught in the storm.

* * *

 **Dun dun duuuuuuu**

 **Well there it is. A little on the short side but I figure that was a good way to end.**

 **Did you see that coming? Rikkaidai is here. Just for clarification, no they're not evil incase that's the vibe people got from that. So I have notes for their personalities so I think I got that down but if they'll need tweaking, please tell me and I'd do my best to fix it. Also, I think I'm going to change Yukimura's power so give me ideas. I had an idea of what I wanted to do but it's been changed soooo if you have anything specific please tell me.**

 **I don't really know what to call like the branches that they work off of. Like Cardinal is the main then it branches to the countries. Would the schools be sub-branches? I'm gonna go with that. Also there was a part in chapter three where Tezuka said he was the leader of Cardinal's SFU to I hanged it to leader of** _ **a**_ **SFU because there are several special forces in this army thing. Whatever I don't know how the military works.**

 **Have you been seeing the foreshadowing? Hahaha I'm having fun with it.**

 **Please forgive grammar and spelling and lateness and corniness and stupidness and bad, unintentional puns and angst and I'm sorry.**

 **Hope ya liked it. See ya later!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay so after a little break, I am ready to start this again.**

 **I looked over my notes again and I was like oh my god I have so many things I want to include. So I'm thinking this is going to be one of the longer stories and I might add in another school but I've decided I'm not going to make any the villain.**

 **Oh also went back and changed the time they'd been running in chapter two. So like it's been years, not weeks.**

 **Okay so here's chapter nine. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Allow me to introduce my squad." The seven people behind him more or less lined up Yukimura introduced them left to right. "Second in command, Sanada Genichiro." So that was who Mr. Order was the previous night. No wonder he had his pride hurt when Echizen hadn't _properly_ apologized. "Yanagi Renji, our marksman. Yagyuu Hiroshi, born with the M-Gene for Telepathy. Niou Masaharu, M-Gene for Cloning. Marui Bunta, M-gene for Illusion. Jackal Kuwahara, our powerhouse, and Kirihara Akaya, M-Gene for Fire."

All of them bowed. "We look forward to training with you."

"Now then, if you're all up to it, why don't we start?" Yukimura smiled.

Tezuka stole a glance at Echizen who was surprisingly stoic. "I don't see why not."

"Oi kid, what did you say your power was?" Marui asked

Echizen rolled his eyes and smirked inwardly at the extremely annoyed look on Sanada's face. "Electricity."

"Interesting." Hiroshi said. "Surely your power is added by the storm then?"

He shrugged. "Something like that."

"Would you care to elaborate?"

"Not really." Hiroshi twitched.

Ryoga smacked his brother behind the head. "He can sense when storms are coming and- more or less make them arrive quicker."

"Wait wait," Kirihara quickly said. "Are you saying he can control the weather?"

"Not exactly but since he can sense the electricity in the air- I guess in a way he does."

"This should be entertaining." Jackal said.

"What type of training did you have in mind Yukimura-san?" Fuji asked.

"Based on the information we received, we've agreed that putting him in a simulation might help. Hiroshi and Marui should be more than able to handle it." Renji smirked.

"If you think that's what will help then by all means." Fuji said. Echizen shrugged and walked with Marui walked to the center of the room.

"Niou, get the machine." Sanada said.

"What machine?" Ryoga asked.

"Think of it as a lie detector but except it measures the state of emotions felt at that time." Niou walked over to Echizen and wrapped a strap around his arm. He then walked back to the two groups and handed the reader to Yukimura.

 _"Halucinatio."_ Marui said as the whole room seemed to ripple quickly.

 _"Anteoccupatio."_ Hiroshi waved a hand towards the group. "That should allow you to see what we do."

"What are you going to do exactly?" Kawamura asked.

"We're going to explore the extent of the negative feelings. Sorrow and guilt intertwine and from what you told us, they are somewhat his faults. We're going to try to see if we can see why."

"So you're going to be prodding around in his head during all of this?" Momo asked.

"I'm going to try to find a subconscious or memory that started it. Marui and I will be linked so if I find something that contains information, he'll know and change his illusion to match it." No one noticed Ryoga twitch at that. "That should help us to achieve the information we need." He turned to Echizen. "Just so you know you will be reliving the memories in a way. Are you ready?"

"Let's just get this over with. I don't like the idea of someone going through my thoughts." Echizen said as the three of them sat in a circle.

He held a hand at Echizen's head. _"U_ _t_ _v_ _ideam_ _."_ The room suddenly began to morph and soon the Seigaku squad found themselves watching a familiar scene.

"What is this?" Kirihara asked.

"What happened before we left for here." Kawamura answered. "One of our soldiers was humiliated before his garrison and wanted a chance to redeem himself."

" _Revenge_ is more like it." Kaidou mumbled.

The two groups watched the scene play out; Arai confronting Echizen, Echizen basically ignoring him then Arai's attacks. Yukimura watched the small screen in his hands draw lines. The starting color being white, meaning void or nothing; the current color it was drawing with was orange, mainly used to measure annoyance or aggravation. The whole conversation between Echizen and Arai, it didn't stop peaking but the moment he was encased in the sphere, it halted and went flat and changed to baby blue, meaning acceptance or contentment.

He frowned. That was somewhat dark. Was there something in Echizen's memories that would make him feel completely all right at the idea of dying at the hands of a comrade?

" _Uterius."_ The room shifted again to earlier that day, to when Inui first told him he didn't have to hold back against Arai.

The color on Yukimura's screen went to pink, indicating joy or playfulness. It made sense, who wouldn't be happy to be able to use the full extent on their power? As he attacked, the color went to light green for a second, confusion, then into a deep red. Was it the fact that he missed what had gotten him so angry?

" _Etiam Uterius."_ The room morphed once again to right before the brothers met the Seigaku squad.

The groups watched as Echizen watched his brother get shot. Yukimura caught the displeased look on Echizen's face. The screen had one line, a mix of several different colors bouncing up and down on it. They watched as Echizen stared as his brother's lifeless body and the colors stopped and went to a straight white line then spiking, alternating between yellow, green, purple, and black; worry, confusion, sadness and fear.

Ryoga watched and frowned. His hand went to his side where he had been shot.

" _Ad intium."_ When the room shifted that time, Ryoga left out a small gasp that went ignored, but not unnoticed. The scene before them was that of a small house with a man and a woman sitting watching three children, two boys and a girl play in the garden.

"Aw that must be Chibisuke when he was a child." Kikumaru whispered.

"Those two must be their parents." Kawamura said.

"Who's the girl with them though?" Oishi asked.

" _Come here Chibisuke!"_ The small memory Ryoga called. _"Nanako found a lizard!" T_ he small memory Echizen walked over to where the other two were.

Hiroshi couldn't help but smile. That was most certainly a happy memory Echizen could use to gauge attacks. When he was going to go to another memory, he hit a sort of speed bump or wall that he couldn't get through. He instructed Marui to keep the illusion the same and not to change it until instructed. Whatever that wall was, it was most likely the reason behind why Echizen had trouble with everything. Just as he was going to try and break through, he felt a tug in the back of his mind.

 _Hiroshi-san._

 _Ryoga-san was it? What do you need?_

 _I know you found something._

 _Yes; there appears to be some sort of wall. If I can somehow get through it, we can find out why-_

 _Please stop._ There was something in Ryoga's tone that made it sound both as a request and demand. _It's there for a reason._

Hiroshi was a bit stunned. _Ryoga-san, if there is something there then we should see what it is._

 _You- don't understand._

There was a very strong, mental roll of grief that suddenly entered Hiroshi's mind that actually made him look up at Ryoga. His eyes widened slightly and his brow furrowed; Ryoga actually looked like he was about to break down and start crying.

 _Please… he doesn't even remember. If you- it was blocked for a reason._

 _Were you planning on telling him? If this is why he can't control his powers, shouldn't he have the right to know? These are_ his _memories._

 _Hiroshi-san, please…_

Hiroshi sighed and shut Ryoga out. The room faded from the memory and returned to normal. "Can we continue later? Going through a head like his is making me irritated." Echizen rolled his eyes.

"If you need to take a break for a few hours then that's fine." Sanada answered. "We should analyze what we have anyways."

"In the meantime, feel free to roam and use this base as it were your own." Yukimura said.

 _Ryoga-san._ Hiroshi's voice echoed through Ryoga's head. _You know why he can't control his powers, and the answer is behind that wall. If you're going to tell him, you better do it before we return later or I will break it._

Ryoga looked down at the floor. He didn't want to; he hoped he'd never have to talk about it again. He didn't want to relive those moments; he didn't want Echizen to relive those moments. They were sealed for a reason.

"What's with that look?" Echizen asked with a raised eyebrow. "You didn't just have your head looked through."

Ryoga's look quickly turned into a smirk. "I'm just so- I didn't know you were so sentimental." His tone was that of a tease.

"Shut up."

"Were those people your parents Echizen?" Fuji asked.

"Yeah and the girl with us was our cousin Nanako." Echizen's brow furrowed. "Dunno what happened to them actually."

A few people looked to Ryoga. "I don't know either. Hopefully they're in hiding somewhere and just waiting for word from us or something."

"Well we can look for them after all this is done. In the meantime," Momo slung his arm around Echizen's shoulders. "Let's go raid their kitchen."

"All you ever do is think about food." Kaidou said.

"Go without me. I want to sleep." Echizen shrugged Momo's arm off, took off the band he was wearing and started walking away from everyone.

"And all he ever does is want to sleep." Oishi laughed.

"Niou-san, might I trouble you for a bit?" Inui asked.

"What do you need Inui-san?" Niou answered.

Inui held up his rifle, which appeared out of nowhere. "Might I utilize your clones as target practice?" Niou sweat dropped.

"Ryoga-san and Kirihara-kun should spar." Kikumaru said. "Fire against ice. Finally see which of the two is stronger."

"I'm pretty sure they'd just cancel each other out." Kawamura said.

"Besides, Kirihara is almost like Echizen; can't fully control his powers." Marui added.

"I can too Marui-san!" Kirihara protested.

"Not when you get into it." Jackal said. "You become a literal hothead when you get caught up in the moment." Kirihara blushed out of embarrassment.

"Tezuka-san, would you like to take a look at the information with us? Seeing as he is technically a part of your team-"

"Yes, that would be helpful." Tezuka answered. "Fuji let's go."

* * *

Echizen walked through the Rikkaidai base back to where they had been staying. It felt weird to have someone going around in your head looking for something that might not even be there. He didn't even know what they were looking for. Hiroshi said they were looking for some sort or negative memory because that was most likely the reason he wasn't able to control his power. In all honest he couldn't think of any times that had drastically changed his thinking of things that would affect him in such a way.

It made sense though; Kikumaru had told him he was afraid of his power. If there really was some sort of repressed or subconscious memory that was the source, he wanted to find it. But then it begged the question, why had it been repressed in the first place? What could've been so bad that he wanted to forget? He sighed. Whatever it was, they would most likely find out later when they continued the search.

When he reached the room, he huffed and smiled. There on his bed was Kaidou's cat. Of course they would have something that would let them keep an eye on him, even if they were technically safe there; it was probably to make sure he didn't go anywhere and knowing him, he probably would've at some point. He went to his bed and lay down with the cat and tried to sleep.

* * *

"All the readings we received appear to be normal." Yukimura said. He, Sanada, Tezuka, and Fuji had gone into a classroom and had all the information they had gathered displayed on a projector. "Everything that we've gotten so far shows what it should."

"Yukimura-san, are we correct to assume this device only works with a telepath?" Fuji asked.

"Well it works best. Like we said before, it's basically the concept of a lie detector. Adding a telepath just helps validate."

"Are we also correct in assuming Hiroshi-san is a very well-skilled telepath?"

"Of course. He wouldn't be a part of the squad if he wasn't."

"One more question, this machine, it records emotions from memories with a nonstop line right?"

"Yes, from the start of the session to the end, the line and colors should be continuous."

"Is there a point to this?" Sanada annoyingly asked.

The room was silent for a second.

"If that's true, then why is there a break near the end?" Tezuka asked as he pointed to the projection. Yukimura and Sanada looked to where Tezuka was pointing and there was a break in the line; almost unnoticeable but it was there. "What is that supposed to be?"

"That- it's something we've experienced a few times before." Sanada answered.

"If a gap like that happens, it usually accounts for someone's memory being altered, erased, or completely blocked out by something." Yukimura said. "Hiroshi should be able to tell us more seeing as he was the one inside Echizen-kun's head."

"Let's find him then. Maybe he can help Echizen get that memory back."

* * *

"He's there." Kaidou said.

"Thank you for doing this." Ryoga said. "I know you probably have better need of your strength than watching over my stupid brother but-"

"Its fine Ryoga-san." Momo said. "Mamoshi does this all the time. It's like a drop in the bucket compared to a battle."

"In truth we were planning to do something like that anyways." Oishi said. "We can't risk him wandering off somewhere and causing trouble."

Ryoga laughed. "That is something he would do."

"Are you all right Ryoga-san?" Kikumaru asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"You looked like you were going to collapse earlier. Do you feel sick?"

He smiled sadly. "In a way."

"Would you like me to take a look at you?" Oishi asked.

"Aah, it's not that kind of sickness. It's just, looking at those memories- I don't know how to explain it. I just feel exhausted."

"Maybe you should go rest with your brother then." Kawamura said. "No need to worry about anything. We'll get you when we're ready to continue."

"You're probably right." His volume dropped to below a whisper. "I need to talk to him anyways…"

"What was that?"

"Ah nothing. Thanks for everything. I'll see you guys in a bit." Ryoga began the trek to the room. When he was fully out of view the others spoke.

"Do you think something else is wrong or was I the only one who noticed how strange he was acting through that whole thing?" Momo asked.

"I'm surprised you notice anything most of the time." Kaidou said.

"Kaidou this is serious." Oishi said. "If there's something else going on than we should figure out what it is."

"But what if it's nothing?" Kawamura said. "If it really was just the memories getting to him then it really isn't our business."

"But this is like what Ochibi did when we were on our way over here." Kikumaru protested. "He was hiding the fact that he saw that old man. Ryoga-san is definitely hiding something."

"What should we do then? Just wait until something happens?"

"Let's at least wait until they're rested to confront them." The group agreed. Whatever Ryoga was hiding, it most likely had something to do with Echizen. The only question was what it was.

* * *

"Hiroshi-kun." Yukimura called to him from the hall outside of the canteen. "A word please."

"Hai." Hiroshi bid his companions farewell and headed into the hall. He was a bit surprised to see Tezuka and Fuji with him. "What do you need?"

"Did you find something in Echizen's head that was- different from what should've been there?" Fuji asked.

Hiroshi raised an eyebrow at the bluntness of the question. "Why do you ask?"

"There was a sort of hiccup in our findings."

"Well if you must know then yes, I did find something."

"Do you kn-"

" _But_ I'm not at liberty to say what it was."

"Why not?" Tezuka's tone had a hint of anger in it.

"Withholding information is a form of treason Hiroshi." Sanada threw out.

Hiroshi sighed. "While I was trying to figure a way about it, the older brother called me he knows that there's a wall in his brother's head."

"You didn't think to tell us this earlier?"

"I was under the impression I would be able to get around it fairly easily but I was asked not to pry." He crossed his arms. "The amount of grief that poured into my head as I was speaking to him was unlike anything I've felt before."

"You think whatever is behind that wall is the reason Echizen-kun can't control his power." Yukimura said.

"I know it because Ryoga-san told me." The four looked at him tense expressions. "He asked me not to look into it because he said he was going to tell him before we started again. That's all I know. If you want more information then you'll need to ask him."

"Thank you. You can return to what you were doing." Yukimura said. Hiroshi bowed at the four of them and went back into the canteen. "What now? Should we wait or confront?"

"Ryoga-san's been lying to us." Tezuka said.

"Probably with good reason." Fuji said, his eyes openly glaring into the ground. "If it's something _that bad_ , to the point where he had Echizen's memories blocked-"

"Is it possible you don't have his full trust?" Sanada voiced.

"Yes, but that shouldn't matter at this point. He knows we're doing this for the both of them." Tezuka sighed. "Fuji's right. If he didn't tell us then it's probably for good reason. Let's at least wait until to confront him about it."

They all agreed but the unanswered question still hung in the air: what was so bad that Ryoga had it blocked out and forgotten?

* * *

When Ryoga arrived at the room, Echizen was lying on his bed with Kaidou's cat on top of him. He smiled at the sight; things hadn't been that peaceful in a long time for them and he really didn't want to change that. He told Hiroshi he would talk to his brother about what's going on in his head but- he really didn't think he could. After all that was happening, it no doubt put stress on Echizen and Ryoga didn't want to add to it.

He sat on his bed and hung his head in his hands. It could wait a few more hours right? After all, it had been years since he'd had to think about it. He fell back on his bed and tried to sleep. Yeah, it could wait.

* * *

 **Aaaaaaah finally jesus. I finally finished. Sorry it took so long.**

 **Ooooooh it's getting pretty intense isn't it? Ahahaha just wait until the next chapter. All hell will break loose.**

 **So if I got personalities wrong please tell me and I'll try to fix them in oncoming chapters. Also if the honorifics are wrong. Tell me about those too.**

 **Please forgive grammar and spelling and lateness and corniness and weirdness and the amount of different POVs and awkwardness and I'm sorry.**

 **Hope ya like it! See ya later!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay. Okay. This chapter. Ooooh things are gonna happen in this chapter.**

 **I'm gonna say this now; I have no idea how big Japanese schools are so it's probably going to be very over exaggerated.**

 **Here's chapter ten. Enjoy!**

* * *

Two of three hours passed when Echizen had woken up, not by choice though. There was this excessive ringing in his ears or at least that's what it sounded like while asleep. Now it was that of a flute. He looked around for the source but only saw the cat sitting next to him and Ryoga asleep in his bed. It was still cloudy outside but it looked like the rain had stopped at least.

The flute was getting louder but, it wasn't unpleasant. It was practically soothing. Echizen stood up and slowly started walking from the room, intent on finding out where the music was coming from. The cat jumped from Echizen's bed and went to him, biting and pulling on his pant leg. Echizen paid it no mind though, not even stopping to look down. He headed out the door and down the hall, leaving the cat and Ryoga inside the room.

Something was wrong. He would've at least glanced at him to see what he was doing but nothing. The cat sent a quick jolt to Kaidou to warn him about what was happening then jumped on Ryoga's bed to wake him. Though he wasn't able to touch anyone other than Kaidou and Echizen, he was able to make sounds like any other cat. He started howling his lungs out and was happily rewarded when Ryoga almost fell out of bed.

"What are you doing cat?" Ryoga held the side of his head and watched the cat go to Echizen's now empty bed. "Chibi-suke?" He sighed. Of course he would be gone at a time like this. "Typical. Okay cat, where'd he go?" The cat went over to the door. "Let's go find him.

* * *

Echizen walked through the base, undetected for the most part. The people that did see him probably assumed he was just wandering and getting a feel for the place. He didn't pay any attention to anyone, they all seemed- insignificant. In fact everything did, except for finding the source of the flute. It was strange; he didn't know why it was so important. He wasn't even thinking of where he was going while walking. It was like he knew where to go.

While he was going through, less and less people had been in the areas he was and pretty soon he was in a completely abandoned part, or at least they hadn't gotten to fixing it yet. With every step the song got louder. He briefly went outside and ended at what appeared to be a second gym. When he entered, the song came blaring out. He wondered why no one else had heard and went to look for the source like he had but it might have been a regular occurrence so they might have just been ignoring it.

There was a lantern illuminating two people; one who was playing the flute and the other who was playing with their hair. When he was about half way to them, the one playing the flute stopped and Echizen seemed to snap out of a trance. He looked around confused. The past few minutes of him getting there was a blur.

"Hell-o Ryoma-san!" Chipper. Echizen never really did like chipper people; Kikumaru was an exception. The one who spoke to him was a girl with light blonde hair those she wasn't the one with the flute. "My name is Handa Noriko; Chargarde's Number 4. I can alter people's memories! This is my best friend Dio Rintaro; Chargarde's Number 3! He can control things with his flute. Isn't that cool?"

Echizen was immediately on guard at hearing Chargarde.

"Calm down." The boy, Dio, said with a supreme lackluster tone. "We're not here to fight, despite what you must think. We're here to help you along."

Echizen snorted. "By _help along_ I assume you mean take me back to your headquarters."

"Exactly!" Handa said. "Well-"

"We were told to give you a choice." Dio interrupted.

"Then I choose no." Echizen turned and started walking back. There was a quick _toot_ from Dio's flute and Echizen froze.

"Mou it's rude to not even hear people out." Handa pouted.

"Why would I want _any_ sort of help from the enemy?" He continued to struggle against his invisible hold.

"Not even to find out why you can't control your magic?"

Echizen looked back at them. "How do you know about that?"

Dio smirked. "You don't even know what's going on in your own head and you're surprised about what _we_ know? I bet you don't even know why Chargarde is after you." He started walking towards him. "There's something in your head, something someone thought you should forget. It's not just that you were the second child in a family to be born with the M-Gene." He snorted. "It's much, _much_ bigger than that." He snapped his fingers and his hold over Echizen was gone. "The question is, do you want to know why you're so important?"

Echizen stood there confused. No, confused wasn't the right word to describe what he was feeling. He was basically at their mercy. "Why are you telling me this?"

"You'd like to know right?" Handa asked with a smile. "It's easier if you agree. If I look in your head and you don't like it, there's a possibility I can break your consciousness then you'd be useless to us."

"And if I choose no?"

Dio wriggled his flute, indicating they would merely make him follow. "You choose no and you're coming with us against your will but, if you choose to cooperate, we'll leave because that's really the only reason we're here."

He wanted to know because since he could remember he couldn't properly control his magic but… he couldn't trust those two- right? They were Chargarde's 3 and 4 for crying out loud. Surely there was some catch.

But… what if-

"Well Ryoma-san? What do you choose?"

There was a moment of silence.

* * *

"Has anyone seen him yet?" Ryoga asked as the group came back together after seemingly scouring the base. "Honestly it was a five minute window before I woke up to go after him."

"Well this base is much bigger than previously thought so we probably haven't even covered half of it." Kawamura said.

"But whoever we talk to says they haven't seen him either." Kikumaru whined. "Maybe we should regroup with everyone and look again."

"Look for what?" Inui went walking up to the along with Renji and Niou.

"Echizen's run off somewhere." Momo said.

"It doesn't seem like anyone's seen him either." Kaidou added. "Not even my scouts have picked anything up."

"It's possible he's gone into the unreconstructed part of the building." Renji said.

"He's still in the base though right?" Niou added. "He'll be safe even if he wanders."

"Isn't it weird that no one's seen him though? Not in the main halls, corridors, or even the canteen." Ryoga tensed. "Something's not right."

"Niou, take them to the back to look." Renji said. "We were going to inform everyone we should get back to the training but we can't very well do that if he's missing. We'll inform the others about what's going on while you search for him."

Inui and Renji went in search of the other members of both squads while Niou guided the most part of the Seigaku squad to the untouched part of the building. "I don't understand how that kid could make it back here in a short amount of time without getting lost."

"It _is_ the basic layout for a school." Momo said.

"Even so, it's bigger and has more rooms. Plus we've renovated it since coming here."

"Use your head for once." Kaidou mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Calm down you two." Kawamura intervened. "We're supposed to be looking for Echizen. Now isn't the time to fight."

"Ryoga-san, are you sure you're alright?" Oishi asked. "You look worse than earlier."

Ryoga sighed. "I don't know Oishi-san. There's- until all this is over, I don't know how I'll be."

"Don't worry. We'll find Ochibi and figure all of this out. Once we-" Kikumaru abruptly stopped speaking and walking.

"What is it Eiji?" Oishi asked. The group stopped walking.

"Do you hear that?" Kikumaru cupped his ears as did everyone else. "It sounds like a flute."

"Why would someone be playing a flute back here?"

"Let's follow it and see where it's coming from. No one that I now of has any sort of instrument." Niou said. Ryoga's stomach dropped. They followed the music though the remains of the school and out to the second gym.

"This seems to be where it's coming from."

When they opened the door, no one was prepared to see Echizen along with two other people standing in there, illuminated by the lantern. The girl was in front of him with her arm extended to his head while the boy was playing his flute.

"Chibisuke-?"

The girl looked around Echizen with a smile. When she locked eyes with Ryoga, it turned into one of malice. " _Frangam Murum."_ There was almost the sound of an audible pop when those words were said. A surge of raw power rippled from Echizen and everything went quiet.

"Our job is done. Let's go Handa." The boy stowed his flute and started walking away.

"Hai Dio-chan!" Handa smiled at everyone. "Bye-bye! I hope we get to see you all again!"

"Wait!" The two of them were gone in an instant.

"Chibisuke?" Ryoga went to his brother. "Are you al-" The moment he saw the tears and pure anguish look on his face, he knew.

"Why…?" Echizen dropped to his knees. The amount of gloom and despair in his voice was like getting stabbed. There was a clap of thunder outside. "Why did you hide it from me?"

It all happened so suddenly. A bolt of lightning crashed through the roof and stuck Echizen who then sent bolts out in every direction. Ryoga was able to get clear for a second before having to dodge once more. The others also had to run in every way to escape the lightning. It was just like when they had first found him; scared, confused, most likely doubting life. There was a crack when one of the bolts struck the ceiling and the beams that were barely able to hold it in the first place started to collapse.

Ryoga called to his brother, worried about the debris falling on him but his voice was lost amongst the chaos. His worry was momentarily calmed since the lightning bolts seemed to be hitting everything and smashing it into smaller pieces that wouldn't really do damage but it was immediately bought back and doubled when they started catching fire from being struck.

In mere seconds Echizen was surrounded by fire but still he was unmoving except for the constant shaking from what he was feeling. Ryoga wanted nothing more than to run and comfort him and tell him everything was going to be alright but being an ice user, fire was something he really couldn't deal with. Especially this fire. It was added by Echizen's lightning and was still growing, as if Echizen wanted them to.

This was bad. This wasn't how he was supposed to find out.

Time seemed to stop. The group stopped their bickering on what they should do and stared at Echizen. There was someone next to him but not one of them. Ryoga's eye widened as he recognized who it was.

"O Savior, this is no good, no good." The man put his hand on Echizen's forehead. "You must calm yourself if you wish to understand. And then you can truly be the savior of this land." There was a bright light that emanated from his hand and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. The lightning immediately stopped and it once again started raining. The fire went out rather quickly and Ryoga rushed to his brother's side.

"Chibisuke-" Ryoga pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

"Ryoga-san." Oishi's tone was soft. "We should get to a- safer location." Ryoga nodded. He slowly stood, pulling Echizen up with him.

Echizen wanted nothing more than to sit there and cry. What he just saw, the emotions he felt all suddenly coming back to him after so many years, he couldn't handle it.

* * *

"Would someone mind telling me why part of my base is destroyed?" Yukimura's tone wasn't one of anger but more so of annoyance, frustration, and genuine curiosity. Everyone was quiet. Both groups had gathered in the canteen. Yukimura had ordered the other troops to clean up and salvage what they could from the destroyed building. "Well?"

Momo met his eyes and sighed but still didn't answer. He turned his gaze to Echizen who had his face tucked away in his arms as he leaned his head on a table.

Tezuka took the hint. "Echizen-"

"Tezuka-san." Ryoga interrupted him. "Please, I'll tell you what happened." _It's my fault anyways._ He let out a shaky breath. "As you all probably already know, I- haven't been completely honest with you. When Hiroshi-san was in Chibisuke's head, he hit a wall; behind that wall was the reason why he wasn't able to fully control his power. I knew it was there because I was the one who had it put there."

"Isn't the reason you're here because you needed to find out _why_?" Kaidou spat out.

"I- We did come to you to figure out why but not for the reason you think."

"Ryoga-san why don't you start from the beginning?" Fuji said. "Why did you have part of Echizen's memory blocked?"

He took a deep breath and calmed down. "You all saw the memory of us and our cousin playing in the garden; it was a few days after that. Chargarde agents came to the house, practically breaking down the door. They demanded we go with them for _the good of the human race_ but- everything seemed to happen so quickly. I tried to force them to leave with my ice but they had some type of machine that nullified our powers and we were subdued. We were helpless. Our parents did their best to fend them off and keep us from being taken but- when we were being lead outside, it was all so sudden.

"There was the sound of gunshots and when I looked back inside, our parents were lying on the floor. I tried to get back to them but all I could do was scream. When I looked at Chibisuke- I didn't know what was going on. He started screaming; for the men to let him go and for our parents to get up. The men just shoved us out the door- that's when something happened. The car they were going to use exploded. We were rushed back inside while they were yelling about an enemy assault. Chibisuke kept wailing which made the agents angry. In the blink of an eye, he was on the floor. When I ran to him I was stopped but, it wasn't by an agent. He was- surrounded by fire."

The tension that was in the room had been cut.

"The flames started to spread and soon the room was engulfed. The agents were screaming and trying to put themselves out but no matter how hard they tried, the fire just kept growing. I grabbed Chibisuke and ran out of the house. We sat there, for what seemed to be hours and watched it burn." The room was silent for a minute as everyone took in the information. "I- didn't want him to have to remember what he had done at such a young age. I sought out someone with M-Memory; an old man said he would do it and even asked if I wanted the same. After that was done, we found an old family friend to stay with but- after a few years, some things happened and we were forced to leave and wandered around for a while. That pretty much brings us to now."

Tezuka was the first to speak after the moment of silence. "Ryoga-san, what was the real reason you sought us out?"

"I wanted to know why-" He hesitated. "Why Chibisuke can control electricity _and_ fire."

Momo snorted. "What are you talking about? There's no way someone could be born with two M-genes."

"But it's perfectly normal for two people in the same family to have one?" Kawamura said.

"So that's the real reason Chargarde wants him." Marui said.

"I don't believe it." Kirihara said. "It's impossible. It was probably just coincidence."

"You're just jealous." Jackal murmured.

"Kirihara-kun has a point." Fuji commented. "Is there proof?" Ryoga sighed. He glanced at Hiroshi, thinking he could look through his memories but thought better of it. He then looked at Echizen, which made everyone else look to him.

Seeing as he could feel everyone's gaze on him, Echizen raised his head. His cheeks were red and eyes puffy but no one said anything. He raised his hand. _"Sphaera Ignis."_ A small ball of fire appeared in his hand. Everyone's mouths seemed to open. Not Ryoga's though; he sat there feeling guilty about the whole thing. He locked eyes with his brother and noticed the melancholy look had faded and was replaced with anger. He barely had time to register the fire ball being thrown at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Echizen shouted at his brother. "Why would you hide something like this from me? Did you think I couldn't handle it? Did you even stop to think of the consequences? It wasn't even your choice to make. What made you think it was alright to take _my_ memory from me? Were you scared that I wouldn't be able to control myself because that seemed to happen when you did it."

"I was ordered!" Ryoga shouted. The room was silent. Echizen's eyebrows furrowed. Ordered? By who? They didn't have any connections to anyone that held power… right?

"Who?" Fuji asked. "Who ordered you?"

"Me." Everyone in the room turned towards the voice. The Seigaku group stiffened and the Rikkaidai looked a little stunned as they saw who entered. Ryoga slightly frowned and turned away. Echizen just stared in confusion.

"I must say it is good to see all of you again. The Rikkaidai Squad too." The person standing in front of was a woman; middle age, hair pulled back into a pony tail. "Even if it isn't the best circumstances but looks like I arrived in time to shed some light on what's been going on the past few days."

"Indeed, Ryuzaki-sama." Tezuka said.

* * *

 **HA.**

 **Well there it is. Not exactly how I wanted it but close enough. Enter Ryuzaki. Come on, she had to go in there somewhere besides like the second chapter. Oh if anyone wants to know the flute idea for this, the song I was listening to was** _ **Three O'Clock Fairy**_ **from Sailor Moon because it kinda sounds creepy but like in the good way.**

 **Please forgive grammar and spelling and corniness and stupidness and ban unintended puns and lateness and oh my god I'm sorry.**

 **Hope ya liked it. See ya later!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay so… not gonna lie, I kinda only planned up to the last chapter soooo, yeah. But don't worry. It's getting done. Oh also I think I'm going to make Yukimura have telekinesis instead of binding so just for your information.**

 **So I've decided that instead of horribly irregular updates, and because I'm a horrible procrastination human being, it's gonna be one chapter every month on the first.**

 **Okay well here's chapter eleven. Enjoy!**

* * *

"If you'd all at a seat then I'll explain what has happened and why. First off, Ryoma- don't blame your brother for what he did. Your parents and I thought it best if something were to happen to you. All he was doing was following his orders." Ryuzaki said.

"Excuse me Ryuzaki-sama but, what is your relation with them?" Kawamura asked as he gestured to the brothers.

"I've known their father for many years. When Ryoga was born, I was called in to help deal with his powers. Ryoma though; no one expected him to be born with an M-Gene, even more so with two. He's the only known case of it in the world and that's why he needed to hide it all this time."

"Wouldn't it have been easier to get one of those nullifiers?" Kaidou asked.

"And if you said he was born with two, how come the doctors didn't detect anything?" Marui added.

"We thought about a nullifier but it would draw unwanted attention. And as for the doctors- Rinko and Nanjiro denied wanted any tests done on him. Instead they brought him to a Cardinal facility and let them run a few extra on him and that's how they found out."

"Wait, but if he was tested on at Cardinal then why didn't we know about it?" Inui asked. "We get sent all the files of everyone that's been in our bases if they have something to do with a mission."

"That information would've compromised your mission. Do you really think if you went up to him and said the reason he has trouble controlling his power is because he was born with two M-Genes? He would've looked at you like you were crazy."

"But Ryoga-san knew…" Oishi mumbled.

"And he was ordered to deny all accusations and run if anything like that ever came up." Ryuzaki shrugged. "It was need to know information and none of you needed to know." She looked over to Echizen, who was glaring at her and sighed. "Look I know you're angry but it was for the best. If anyone else found out that you were born with two genes then you would've been targeted by more than just Chargarde. Not to mention you would probably flaunt it around and get into trouble." Echizen rolled his eyes.

"This is all too confusing." Kikumaru whined. "If Ochibi didn't know and we didn't know and Ryoga-san didn't tell him- I don't understand."

"Come to think of it the only reason we knew where he was, was because of other people there…" Niou said.

"Are you saying Chargarde Agents infiltrated our base?" Sanada asked.

"That's what it sounds like." Renji said. "Were we able to get them on surveillance?"

"Chargarde's number three and four; Dio Rintaro and Handa Noriko." Echizen spoke. "Able to manipulate things with music and alter people's memories."

"Wait wait wait, you were _alone_ with Chargarde's three and four?" Momo accused. "Did it occur to you that you could've been kidnapped? What were you doing in that part of the base anyways?"

"Did you not hear me say they were able to _manipulate_ things with music?" Echizen bit. "I couldn't exactly do anything since I was being held there against my will."

"What did they do?" Fuji asked.

"The girl brought my memories back. That's it."

"They knew." Ryuzaki said in an annoyed tone. "I guess they're not as stupid as they seem; chasing you just because you're the second in a family to be born with the gene."

"What do you mean _just?"_

" _Really_ , it's almost a common thing in twins for both to be born with the gene. The only reason you two are so special in that sense is because you're five years apart." She waved her hand. "But enough about that. If you have questions you can ask later; Ryoma, how about a demonstration of your _new found_ power?"

"Isn't that- _not_ a good idea?" Kirihara asked.

" _Theoretically speaking_ ," Inui started. "With the new information combining with the old; seeing as Echizen has an excess amount of power, it's because he was born with two genes and since he's been unaware of it, he's been trying to focus all of it into only element. Now that he's able to use both, he should be able to split that energy simultaneously between the two and control his attacks perfectly."

"Or he still won't be able to control himself, resulting in further loss of our base." Niou said.

"Come now, if Ryoma destroys another building then we'll pay for it." Ryuzaki said with a smile. Everyone sweat dropped. "How about we start with something simple; Ryoma's fire against Kirihara's fire?"

"That is _definitely_ not a good idea." Marui laughed.

"Kirihara has difficulty controlling his fire." Jackal added.

"So I've been told but I'm confident in both their abilities and if things do get out of hand, there is a certain ice user whose _ice can freeze anything._ " She looked at Ryoga with a smirk. Ryoga rolled his eyes.

"I don't see the harm in it." Yukimura said with a smile. "We were planning on renovating the training grounds anyways so might as well."

"I still don't think this is a good idea." Sanada said while rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Nonsense." Ryuzaki smiled. "Whenever you're ready." She called to the two boys that were across from each other on a court. Echizen and Kirihara had taken their places; the former looking relatively interested yet still angry about the whole thing and the latter plan annoyed and in all truth most likely jealous.

"What should we do?" Kirihara asked. "Anything specific?"

"Anything to make your opponent submit." Ryuzaki answered. She looked at Echizen. "Ryoma, try not to go overboard."

Echizen rolled his eyes. Though her tone had humor in it, he knew that she was serious. He took a deep breath. " _Facere Arcum."_ He held his arm out and a bow materialized though it wasn't as he would've liked; longer, a little too wide, and all together it was made from both flames and electricity.

"Oi I thought we agreed only fire." Kirihara said.

Echizen ignored him completely. Thought it was annoying that his powers still didn't obey him, the bow intrigued him. He could feel something in his chest that told him it was special. An arrow materialized and he shot it, not at Kirihara but into the ceiling above them.

"What's he doing?" Marui asked.

Echizen looked at the arrow in the ceiling. " _Praemium."_ It dropped from the ceiling only about a foot before it exploded, sending fire balls and lightning in every direction. Momo quickly put up a wall of vines to block them while Kirihara did the same with a wall of fire. After a few seconds, the attack stopped. Momo and Kirihara took down their walls and everyone stared at Echizen who was standing with a blank look. "Oops."

"Hah? You almost fry us and all you can say is _oops?"_ Momo yelled.

"Calm down Momo." Oishi said. "Echizen, maybe choose a different weapon?"

" _Facium Gladio."_ The bow morphed into a short sword and this time, only made from fire.

"If that's what you want to do then fine. _Facium Gladio."_ Kirihara rushed at Echizen and swung. Echizen awkwardly blocked and stepped back. He had no idea how to sword fight. He chose a bow because it was a long distance weapon so he wouldn't have to get close to his opponent. He didn't know the first thing about swords.

"Are you sure this was a good idea?" Ryoga asked with a none too happy tone.

"They'll be fine." Ryuzaki answered with a smirk. "Is there anything else we'd like to get sorted out during this time?"

"Actually, why are you even here?" Kikumaru asked.

"We've been keeping track of your movement since you've left. After the initial attack from Chargarde's number six, we figured it would be best for someone to come and get the information straight from the source. We didn't plan on Ryoma being attacked so soon after it though, and by their number three and four on top of it. If there any other information about the attack that might have slipped your minds?"

Everyone who was there looked towards the battle that was going on; Echizen was panting slightly while Kirihara was literally going red in the face but seemed to be enjoying himself.

"It feels like we were forgetting something but I don't know what." Kawamura said. "Something to do with Echizen…"

"The whole reason we're here is because of him." Kaidou rolled his eyes.

"Momo's right. It's like there's something there but almost like a dream." Oishi said.

"Oi Echizen, did something happen in that room earlier?" Momo yelled to him.

"A lot of- things happened in that- room earlier." Echizen yelled back as he parried Kirihara's attack and sent him back a few feet so he could catch his breath. "Is now really the best time to be asking that?"

"Nya but there's something in our head's that we can't remember." Kikumaru whined.

"Well I can't do anything about that can I?"

"Okay okay, everyone calm down." Fuji said. "I think I know what it is; Echizen, when you regained your memories, the reason the building collapsed was because of a sudden surge of power and you losing control right?" Echizen nodded. "Then what caused you to gain control again?"

A round of _ah!_ was heard by everyone.

"That's right. Everything seemed to stop all of a sudden." Niou said.

"What did you do to control yourself Echizen?" Inui asked.

"I didn't-" He was cut off by Kirihara charging at him and flinging him into an opposing wall with a laugh.

"Is that all you've got?" Kirihara's face and eyes had gone red and it even looked like his hair was changing color too.

Sanada sighed. "He's lost it."

"At this rate we're going to need to find a new place to hold up." Marui said.

"Are you alright Echizen?" Kawamura called out.

Echizen waved away the dust that had formed a cloud around him and stood. He barely got his footing before Kirihara lunged at him once more, bringing his sword down for a blow only to have Echizen jumped to the side. It ended up leaving a wonderful scorch mar from the floor to the ceiling. "Can someone calm him down a bit?"

"If you can't handle this then you're in no position to be chasing after Chargarde." Ryuzaki yelled to him. "If you want him to stop then win."

Echizen scoffed. Kirihara kept coming at him and he kept dodging. He was able to get a few swipes at him but all in all he just kept dodging and everyone could see he was getting tired. When he asked again if someone could get him to stop, Ryuzaki just told him the same thing; he wouldn't be able to stop until he had beaten Kirihara himself.

Once again Kirihara charged at Echizen and made him lose his footing. He fell to the floor and barely had time to put his sword up in defense. When the swords came together there was a flourish of flames.

"What's wrong?" Kirihara taunted. "You're supposed to be all special just because you have two powers but you can do no more than cower in fear and expect others to put their life on the line for you. _Calor Illud."_ The flames from Kirihara's sword engulfed them. "You're lower than dirt."

"Ryuzaki-sama…"

Ryuzaki ignored the people calling her, telling her to order them to stop but she kept a straight face. She _was_ worried for Echizen; it was really the first time he had ever used his powers in combat but he needed to prove that he could handle himself because if worst came to worst, he would need to.

Echizen was lying on the ground with Kirihara on top of him, not letting up in the least. There was real killing intent radiating from him but no one would really let him die right? He was some sort of key to the whole M-Gene science; there was no way anyone would let Kirihara kill him… right?

"That's all you've got?" Kirihara scoffed. _"Parva Ignus Pila."_ While he kept Echizen pinned under his weight and busy with the sword, Kirihara conjured several small fireballs. "Might as well finish this." He maneuvered his sword and flung Echizen's away, making it fade into nothing. He jumped off and pointed his finger at him. _"Impetum."_ The spheres began to circle then went crashing down.

The wall of fire that had been around them fizzled out and showed Kirihara standing with a triumphant smirk on his face and a pillar of smoke where Echizen had been laying. No one in the group moved. Ryoga was glaring at Kirihara, almost ready to freeze him but he stole a glance at Ryuzaki who was wearing a small frown but was obviously waiting for something to happen.

"Tch, do you really mean to tell me a kid like that is supposed to be the answer to everything?" Kirihara yelled, his face still burning. "He can't even protect himself against someone of the same element. What was the point of coming here if he was just gonna _die_ anyways?"

A rather large fire spout shot up from behind him and went straight through the roof. Ryuzaki's frown turned into a smile in an instant and the whole group took a step back from the mere heat coming from the spout. _Just as expected._ "Alright, I have some preparations to make. Tezuka, Yukimura, I want reports from both of you when this is finished." She started walking to the door.

"Where are you going?" Ryoga asked.

"There's someone I need to have a word with." She waved her hand. "I'll be back in a few hours."

"Typical." He rolled his eyes.

"What's happening?" Kirihara shouted. He too was forced to step back because of the heat.

" _You're noisy."_ Echizen walked out from the center of the pillar. There was something off about his tone though. _"Did you really think you would be able to beat me with your pathetic flames?"_ His body had a soft glow around it.

"Oi oi, isn't antagonizing him something that shouldn't be done?" Kaidou said.

Kirihara's face, if possible, went redder. _"Magna Augue."_ A large fireball appeared over his head and he threw it at Echizen.

Echizen merely swatted it away like a fly and it got sucked in to spout behind him. He held his hand out. _"Vortex Ramus."_ A tendril of flames shot out and went straight for Kirihara who didn't have time to block and was flung into the wall on the other side of the building and, thankfully for Sanada, it didn't break. When the dust was cleared, Kirihara's face was back to normal but he was out like a light.

"Waa, who knew Ochibi was so strong." Kikumaru said as he watched the pillar burn down and fade away.

"Remind me not to get on his bad side." Jackal joked.

Echizen was left standing in the middle of the room; the glow had faded and he seemed back to his normal self. He looked around to see some still smoldering scorch marks then looked at Yukimura. "None of those were- my- fault." He crumpled to the ground and passed out.

Momo burst out laughing. "He must've used up all his energy in that one attack. I can't believe it; he can actually control two elements! I guess he's not just a useless brat after all."

"Momo this is no time for jokes." Oishi scolded. "If he passes out like that at Chargarde he's done for."

"Guess the kid still needs to train." Niou added.

"But this session was with special weapons and not just normal attacks." Fuji countered. "He can most likely hold his own against some of Chargarde's soldiers."

"Also the fact that he was able to pull off such an attack in such a short amount of time of getting his memories back." Renji said.

"Not to mention he seemed to be in control of himself." Inui added.

Ryoga had gone and hoisted his brother on his back and snorted. "He was probably just showing off, seeing as he likes to do flashy things."

"At any rate, he's improving." Tezuka said and turned to Yukimura. "We'll be staying in your company for a little while longer."

"Of course." Yukimura answered. He took a look around the ruined room. "Sanada take Kirihara to his room; Renji have some people get in here to at least air it out. It looks like it can last a few more days before we have to put it out of its misery."

* * *

Echizen once again awoke on a bed with a cat staring at him. _Of course I won't be able to have a moment to myself anymore._ He thought in annoyance. It wasn't _entirely_ his fault; he _was_ being controlled and it was _Ryoga_ that basically started the whole thing but, then again it was his _parents_ that brought him into the world. He huffed and put a pillow over his face, no; it was his fault.

"How are you feeling?" He heard Ryoga's voice somewhere in the room.

"Kikumaru-san was right." His reply was muffed.

"What do you mean?"

"I've been subconsciously scared of my powers because of what I did when I was a kid but also because I've been trying to channel all my energy into just one when it should've been divided into two. I feel- whole now."

"Sorry." Echizen removed the pillow from his face and saw Ryoga sitting at a window. "It's my fault that you've been put through such hardships in the past years. But you need to understand it was for your own good. If someone had seen you can control two elements-"

"What happened to Nanako?" Echizen cut Ryoga off and sat up. "It was only us, mom, and dad in the house that day. Where is she?"

"Hopefully somewhere safe."

Echizen sighed. After a minute of silence, he took his pillow and threw it, hard, at Ryoga's head. "Just because I understand why you did what you did doesn't mean I'm not angry about it."

Ryoga smiled slightly. "Of course. What do you say to getting something to eat? Everyone's probably in the canteen anyways; it is dinner time."

He snorted. "Just like you to be thinking about food in a time like this."

"In a time like this you should be thinking of something that makes you happy, and food just so happens to make me happy." He threw the pillow back. "Come on, might as well get the impending interrogation over with so you can relax a bit later."

Echizen smirked and began to walk out with Ryoga with the cat trailing behind them. _Think about something happy in troubled times, huh?_

* * *

 **Aaaaah there it's done I can relax slightly before I start feeling guilty about not updating regularly.**

 **Well there it is. Did ya like it? I'm looking at my notes and just- this took a turn. Like not a bad turn but just a turn in general. Goodbye straight forward plot and hello big, windy, turny plot. Were you guys a bit surprised to see Ryuzaki in this? I wasn't planning on her being in it at all but eeeeh it helps.**

 **Pssssst, reviewing helps me get chapters out faster.**

 **Please forgive grammar and spelling and corniness and stupidness and angst and bad intentional puns and lateness and oh my god I'm sorry.**

 **Hope ya liked it. See ya later!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay back into the swing of things. Hopefully this is going how I want it. I have an idea of what I want to do and am gonna try to fit some things in here and there to try to make it work.**

 **Here's chapter 12. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Ochibi!" As the brothers walked into the canteen, Echizen was tackled by Kikumaru. "Are you alright? We were worried after you collapsed but you were able to control your powers! Isn't that cool?"

"Yes, absolutely spectacular." The amount of sarcasm in his voice was enough to make anyone annoyed. "Will you please get off me?"

"What does it feel like?" Kikumaru ignored him. "Having two powers flow through you? How are you able to differentiate between the two? Do you think that someone would be able to learn a new power?"

Ryoga ignored the two of them and went to sit with the others. "The mood seems to have lightened up a bit."

"Well seeing as we finally have the answers to our questions." Inui said with a blank stare at Ryoga's direction.

"R-Ryoga-san, if you don't mind me asking, who did you stay with after the- incident?" Oishi asked.

"Ryuzaki-san actually." He answered. "Well, not _her_ specifically. We had a plan that if anything happened, we would be put under her care because of her ties to Cardinal. We were staying at a sort of half-way house when Chargarde tracked us down; a few people were able to get us out but the whole place was completely demolished, several people who were like family to us, who we grew up with, died to protect us. We tried to find anyone that might have survived but we couldn't go back because Chargarde agents had taken control of the area. We've been basically wandering for the rest of the time until you found us."

"You didn't think to go to the Headquarters?" Marui asked.

"Of course we did; hell we were looking for anyone with relation to Cardinal. _I_ knew that we were probably on some sort of special list and that getting us to at least a camp would probably take priority over what they were currently doing but Cardinal forces seemed to be a bit _scarce_ where we were. We originally lived in the Kanto Region but where we were placed was the Chugoku Region."

"Down there is _crawling_ with Chargarde bases." Kaidou said. "Why would you be there?"

"Probably because hiding right under your enemy's nose seemed safe at the time." Jackal answered.

"We had to lay low for a long time but when we finally managed to get out we started to head back towards the Kanto Region." Ryoga shrugged. "We were caught a few times but we managed. I figured that as long as we were in the area, someone would find us and that's basically what happened."

Everyone seemed content with the story, hoping that it was the true. Ryoga had no reason to lie about anything anymore since all the cards seemed to be on the table.

Inui looked over to Echizen, who had given up trying to escape Kikumaru and just lay underneath him, giving no more than a _yes_ or _no_ to the questions he was being asked. "What are our plans for today then? Seeing as there's new information, I have a few things I'd like to- test."

"Seeing as we've had more action than what we planned for, everyone can do whatever they'd like today." Tezuka answered, not really bothering to hide his tired tone.

"I agree." Yukimura added to his team. "We all need a chance to regroup and recoup."

"If that's how it's going to be then I'm going to take a nap." Marui said as he got up from the table and started to head out. Jackal shrugged and followed.

"I'd like to see your training room if you don't mind." Kawamura said.

"If it gives me a reason to get away from everyone else then I'll take you there." Niou answered as he got up and gestured for Kawamura to follow him.

Inui adjusted his glasses and walked over to Echizen who had completely given up and was trying to sleep. "Echizen, would you mind accompanying me to the lab?" Echizen visibly perked at hearing he was going to be saved from the happy terror of Kikumaru.

Kikumaru whined. "Eeh but I still have loads more questions to ask him."

"You can ask when he's done."

"I'd like to conduct a few tests now that we have all the information. It'll help with general need-to-know things and we'll know how to handle everything if you end up getting injured or sick."

Kikumaru paled slightly. "But the last person you did that to-" he turned and griped Echizen by the shoulders. "Ochibi!"

Echizen was thoroughly confused. He didn't mind having Inui do tests on him but the amount of worry that was on Kikumaru's face made him anxious.

Inui's glasses gleamed as he grabbed a hold of the back of Echizen's shirt and pulled him out from under Kikumaru and started out the door. "Yanagi, I'll be using your lab for a while."

"Make sure you clean it up when you're finished." Renji said.

"W-Wait." All the things he was hearing plus the worried looks on not only Kikumaru's but Oishi's and Momo's also. Though he struggled, he couldn't escape Inui's hold and both of them went out the door.

"Is he going to be alright?" Ryoga asked with slight concern.

Fuji smiled. "He should be- for the most part."

* * *

"I'll be continuing off the other information I had gathered before we left for here." Inui said as they entered Renji's lab. "I should be able to get _proper_ readings with everything this time."

"Why are we in here and not outside?" Echizen asked.

"The first time at our base was merely a test of abilities; being here allows us to do the actual science of your power and perhaps see why you have two genes instead of just one. All in all it's a simple thing that all troops that have the M-Gene have to do when they enroll in the military. Now, if you'll remove your shirt."

Echizen shrugged. Inui's logic seemed sound enough. Inui attached a few electrodes to his chest. "What are these for?"

"They will measure the amount of energy you exert with everything you do."

"So- you're basically giving me a physical like for sports?"

Inui stopped for a second. "I suppose that would be an accurate description." He led Echizen to a treadmill. "Although this one is most likely more intense. I'm going to try to push you to your physical and mental limits at the same time. You can still use your powers without saying an incantation correct?" He nodded. "I'd like for you to only perform in that sense for now."

Echizen shrugged and hopped onto the treadmill. Inui set the speed at a three, general walking speed.

"Alright, let's begin with some questions." Inui grabbed a chair and took out a notebook. "Introduce yourself to me as you would in a classroom."

 _That's not a question._ Echizen rolled his eyes. "Echizen Ryoma, 16, I enjoy tennis."

"That's it?"

"If you haven't noticed, I tend to keep my life private Inui-san."

"Fair enough." Inui jotted down a few things. "When you were at our base, you noticed soldiers practicing with weapons. Do you know why they were using things like bows, swords, and maces instead of creating things like rifles?"

That was a question Echizen didn't count on, nor had he thought about it. "Is it because- you need to understands the workings of what you're creating? Primitive weaponry like that is simplistic and it's easy to maintain over a longer period of time; doesn't take a lot of mental energy or focus. Something like your rifle has lots of inner workings; not that it would be impossible to make firearms but all in all bows and swords make the fight- easier?" he looked to Inui for an answer but was only met with the sounds of scribbling. "Aren't you going to tell me if I'm right?"

"All in due time." Inui set the treadmill to nine; speed walk or slow jog. "Do you think you would be able to make a rifle from your powers?"

"If you mean out of only one then no; too complicated when I don't even know how to keep it separate normally."

"Then make one using both of your powers."

"While I'm on this thing?" he gestured to the treadmill.

"I told you I'm going to push you to your physical and mental limit. What if you're running from the enemy and you need a weapon but you're focusing on running too much to be able to form one?" The frown that appeared on Echizen's face made Inui smirk. "Try to make one exactly like you remember mine."

Echizen pressed his lips together but held out his hand and began to craft Inui's rifle; long barrel, two inch scope, a weird custom butt. All in all, it looked like Inui's rifle with fire and electricity flickering off it.

"Very good." Inui scribbled in his notebook. "Try firing it."

"What?" Echizen stumbled a bit. "I can't fire it."

"Why not?"

"It's just a shell. I don't know the inner workings of a gun. The thing would just explode in my face."

"For an answer to your question; yes. That's exactly why people with the M-Gene use primitive weapons. The fact that you refused to fire proves it. But that doesn't mean that there aren't people out there that have the gene and an extraordinary understanding of weapon management that would be able to do what you weren't." He once again turned the speed up, this time to a running pace. "Alright Echizen, what's 12x2+ 9x-3 if x=4?"

"Haa?" Echizen nearly fell on his face. "What does math have to do with any of this? I thought you were supposed to be testing my power level."

"This is all a part of the test Echizen. Answer the question."

Echizen huffed. After about a minute he finally answered. "It's 225."

"Correct." Once again it was sped up.

"Inui-san."

"We're almost done. Drink this."

The cup that was handed to him had some sort of red liquid in it. "What is it?"

"All in due time."

Inui's tone didn't make Echizen feel like everything was going to be fine but he figured he wouldn't get anything else out of him even if he asked. He pressed the cup to his lips and downed the liquid- and the yell that came from his mouth was able to be heard throughout the base.

* * *

"Ah Inui-san must be done with the test." Momo said from his bed.

"What- was that scream exactly?" Ryoga asked with slight concern for his brother.

"If you're not careful then you'll have to go through it as well." Fuji said with a smile that made Ryoga feel like it was a threat. "Anyway, what do you plan on doing when all of this is over with?"

"Living a normal life is probably out of the question right?" Ryoga ran a hang through his hair. "I never really thought that we'd reach this point. I kind of just planned on having to run for our lives longer. There's no real way to completely get rid of Chargarde is there?"

"There'll always be someone with a different point of view." Momo answered as he scratched his head. "Supposedly you two could try to live a normal life somewhere but Chargarde probably has your faces plastered all over and might even be offering some sort of compensation for finding and bring you in."

"So it's completely out of the question." Ryoga sighed. "I don't know. Maybe Ryuzaki-san can help us think of something."

"You're practically family right? And she is one of the most powerful people Cardinal has-"

"Not to mention how important you two at the moment." Fuji added. "She'll be able to figure out something."

"And if worst comes to worst- I don't know, you two could stay here and be trained as Cardinal soldiers. At least we'd know you'd be safe." Ryoga and Fuji stared at Momo. "What?"

"Yes Momo; having them as trained soldiers, fighting with magic and guns is completely safe." Fuji teased.

"You know what I mean Fuji-san!"

"Actually, that might not be a bad idea." Ryoga earned genuine looks of surprise for the two of them. "You're right when you say we'll most likely always be hunted and even if we were able to live a _normal life_ , Cardinal would check up on us regularly, right? Right now it seems like the best."

"Fuji-san you're a witness!" Momo laughed playfully. "If Mamoshi ever says I have stupid ideas again, you can tell him about this."

"While I understand what you're saying Ryoga-san, it's not just your decision." Fuji put in. "Not even your brother's either. When it all comes down to it, it belongs to Tezuka and Ryuzaki-sama, but considering you two are special, I would think the commanders of the other Cardinal groups would like to have a say in it as well."

"You think they'll say no?"

"Half of them probably; complaining about your lack of training and the possibility of compromising missions. They'd also probably bring up the fact of how young he is."

"He's sixteen. I'm pretty sure that Horio and a few others were around his age." Ryoga cross his arms. Fuji wasn't wrong but the facts still stood.

"They're different. Besides the fact that they don't have the gene, they're training with Oishi and learning how to be medical officers." Momo countered. "And they didn't exactly have a choice in being here. We found them wandering around an abandoned town about a year ago. It was either leave them there or bring them back and everyone at base needs to have something to do."

"But Chibisuke knows how to defend himself and with training I'm sure both of us would be an asset to your team."

"That may be true but-"

"If it comes down to us, we'll side with you." Fuji interrupted. "All in all, the only one you should worry about is Ryuzaki-sama."

Ryoga raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just say that other commanders would want a say in it?"

"Yes but she usually just does what she wants anyways." Fuji smiled while Ryoga sweat dropped. "Now that that matter has been taken care of, why don't we go see the damage Inui's done on your brother?"

* * *

When the four (Kawamura joined along midway) arrived at Renji's lab, they found Echizen lying on the ground and Inui prodding him with a metal rod and a bunt stick.

"What happened here?" Kawamura asked trying to take in the image in front of him.

"Just a test." Inui's glasses were gleaming. "Echizen, you'll be done once you set the stick on fire or shock me with the metal one."

The sound Echizen made was like a dying pig.

"Is he going to be alright?" Ryoga asked with concern.

"He'll be free to leave as soon as he finishes the test." Inui dodged Ryoga's question and continued to poke Echizen.

"Won't doing that aggravate him Inui-san?" Momo asked.

"That's the point. He's been lying there for the past ten minutes."

"Are you sure he's not dying?"

"You went through the exact same thing when you were initiated Momo." Said Fuji.

"Yeah and I remember _I_ felt like I was dying. I'm pretty sure everyone who had to do your test felt like that. I mean look at him."

Echizen's hands slowly moved from his sides. "Were you _trying_ to poison me Inui-san?" he moaned from the floor as he weakly grabbed the metal rod and the stick and simultaneously shocked Inui and lit the tip.

"Well, I _can_ …" Inui smirked. "But we'll save that for another time. You're free to go- unless you'd like another dose."

Echizen's hands dropped to the floor. "Don't even joke about it." He pushed himself up. "Someone hand me my shirt."

"Well that was fun." Momo said in a bored tone. "Let's to get something to eat."

"Don't talk about food." Echizen moaned.

"Will you be joining us Inui?" Fuji asked.

"No. I'll stay back for a little while to analyze the results I got. I'll join you later."

"Chibisuke can you even stand without help?" Ryoga took his brother's arm in an attempt to help him.

Echizen let his brother pull him from the floor. He slowly started walking from the lab and away from Inui in general. Momo said that he remembers the same thing and felt the same way and Echizen was sure that the first time at the Seigaku camp, people were complaining about 'a drink' too. Did that mean that they had to drink that stuff on a regular basis?

"We'll see you later Inui." Kawamura said as they followed after Echizen.

"Ah." As they left, Inui turned to the stick and rod that were setting on a table. The stick actually had a rod inside of it that measured the temperature of either fire or ice, depending on which element the person being tested had. Echizen had managed to burn through the wood in a matter of seconds and the rod inside had started turning red. The other plan rod on the other hand, the handle was covered in rubber so that no one could actually be electrocuted; Inui was though. "Interesting…"

However powerful Inui originally thought Echizen was being increased dramatically.

* * *

In the canteen, Echizen currently had his head down on a table, moaning whenever someone sat down and made it move. The Seigaku group was more or less ignoring him, with the exception on Oishi who was doing his best to make sure Echizen wasn't going to be sick at the table.

"What's up with him?" Marui asked as he sat next to Echizen.

"He just went through Inui's test." Kikumaru said.

"So, what, he's tired?" Jackal asked.

"More like he has food poisoning." Kaidou answered. "He had to drink one of Inui-san's juices."

"Getting sick off of a juice? Are you sure this kid is the savior of everything?" Marui teased.

Echizen turned to him and grabbed the front of his shirt. "Imagine the worst tasting food you've ever eaten. Imagine the flavor it left in your mouth. Now imagine it sitting in the sun for three days; bugs have gotten to it, it's begun to rot. Imagine that bug infested, rotting food getting put in a blender, liquefying it, turning it into sludge then adding a completely unknown substance to it to make it red and letting it sit for a week. Imagine having to drink it." Echizen let go of his shirt and placed his head back on the table. "It's not a juice; it's hell in liquid form."

All of the Rikkaidai members that were present looked like they were busy picturing what Echizen had told them as their faces contorted into looks of pure disgust. The Seigaku members merely nodded in agreement except for Tezuka who had been stoic and Fuji who was laughing.

"That's the most accurate description I've ever heard." Momo said with a chuckle.

"Well now it's over, right?" Niou questioned hopingly. "You don't have to drink it again."

"No." Oishi said with dread. "It's used as a punishment."

"B-But wouldn't you get used to it?" Kirihara asked.

"It's different every time. Sometimes he mixes two of them together."

Hiroshi put his hand on Kawamura's shoulder. "You have my condolences."

The group of them sat and chatted for a bit while they picked at their food, having lost their appetite. After about half an hour, the remaining members of Rikkaidai, Inui, and Ryuzaki joined them.

"All right you lot, pack up your stuff." Ryuzaki called out, addressing the Seigaku group. "We're moving out in two hours."

"Where are we going?"

Ryuzaki smirked. "We're going to Cardinal's Headquarters."

* * *

 **Aaaand there. Finally.**

 **Well there it is. This took like forever to write. I'm so sorry it took so long to come out but there was Christmas, and my sister came home and then there was my mom's birthday; all in all I've been busy.**

 **I think I can squeeze three or four more chapters out of this, maaaybe five if I try hard enough but whooooo what a ride this has been.**

 **Please forgive grammar and spelling and bad puns and corniness and lateness and overall stupidness and oh my god I'm sorry.**

 **Hope ya liked it. See ya later!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Eeey. Okay so I have bits and parts of what I want from this one so hopefully it goes as planned.**

 **Uuuh here's chapter 13. Enjoy!**

* * *

The ride in the helicopter was silent for the most part. Almost everyone had passed out from what had happened in the past week. Despite the fact that they had been in a, what seemed to be secure location for a few days, everyone had still kept their guard up. Especially considering two of Chargarde's top agents had been able to infiltrate it practically undetected.

They were now headed to Cardinal's Headquarters, the command center for everything they had been fighting for.

Ryoga had been staring out the window in a daze. He wanted to talk to Ryuzaki about having the two of them added to Seigaku's Special Forces but he also had to talk to his brother about it first and he feared that he would have no time when they arrived because no doubt they would want to perform some matter of tests on the two of them.

He weighed his options of bring it up before they take down Chargarde or after; before would let it get mulled over for some time, which could essentially go to the fact of the other commanders having a greater say in it. After had the same idea but everyone would be able to see how they handle themselves in battle and could make or break the deal. Not to mention other commanders might want them for their own squads.

Ryoga ruffled his hair and tried to push the thoughts out. He hoped at the very least that they would get some down time to do whatever they needed before they begun prepping from their attack, because that would give him enough time to run the idea by his brother and decide if he wanted to bring it up to Ryuzaki. After a few more minutes, he fell asleep.

* * *

The group was awakened as they touched down on the helipad. Ryoga was a bit surprised to see his brother be the first one to actually get out.

Compared to the previous base, and really any other place they've been, this place was huge; maybe like an old convention center. A giant dome sat in the center surrounded by several other smaller buildings; trucks carrying loads of soldiers were driving all over with platoons running after them, other soldiers were sparring- mainly those with and without the gene against each other.

A Soldier came up to meet them. "Seigaku Battalion- follow me and we'll get you debriefed and accommodated for your stay."

"Finally. I've been waiting to hear those words for a while." Momo laughed.

"We should be so lucky to actually be able to relax for a little bit." Fuji said.

"Yes, yes everyone's happy about it." Ryuzaki commented as she rolled her eyes. "You'll be in good hands." She turned to the brothers. "You two are coming with me. There's someone who'd like to see you."

"Of course we don't get to relax." Echizen mumbled.

"You'll get to rest soon enough. This person's been waiting to see you for a very long time."

"In all fairness, _a lot_ of people have wanted to see us, for a long time." Ryoga answered. "I think they can wait a bit longer so we can at least have a bit of rest before we start this whole thing."

"Nonsense. The meeting will take no more than five minutes." Ryuzaki folded her arms and started walking away, gesturing for the brothers to follow, who did but not without sighing in frustration. "After it's over, you two will be debriefed and get cleaned up then have the rest of the day to do whatever you want, within reason. Tomorrow is when the meeting about Chargarde is going to be held with the other battalion leaders. You two will be attending."

"Fine let's just get this over with then." Echizen huffed.

Though the two groups had gone in the same building, Ryuzaki had broken off and gone to a small room with the two brothers while the others went towards the medical wing to get checked on.

"What's so important about this person that it can't wait until tomorrow?" Ryoga groaned.

"I told you, this person has been waiting a very long time to see you and you probably won't get a chance tomorrow because you'll be with the leaders all day." Ryuzaki answered with a slight smirk on her face. "And the days after that will keep you busy with preparing for the assault and you'll hardly have free time."

"So you're using our free time now to make us see some military person that we probably see anyways?" Echizen asked annoyed.

"I never said this was a military person; quite the opposite in fact."

She led them to a small conference room. "Go on in. I'll be waiting here when you're finished."

"You're not even going to introduce us?" Ryoga asked.

"There's no need. Now hurry up; you are on a time schedule you know." She pushed the two of them through the door and shut it behind them.

The room was rather small, holding only a table and a few chairs. Sitting in one of the chairs was a girl; tall, slender, dark hair with bangs cut straight across, purple colored eyes, and surprising in the world that they live in, a long, not tattered skirt and a cardigan.

There was a smile on her face as she greeted them. "Hello, Ryoga-san, Ryoma-kun."

The two of them were just staring. It had been so long since they heard that voice.

* * *

When dinner had finished, everyone had gone to the showers. When the rest of the group had been separated from the brothers, they were led into a section of the base that seemed to be for interrogations. They were all questioned separately about the events that had gone on the past few weeks and when they were finished with that, they were led to a lab where they had tests, very much like the ones Inui performed, done to check their abilities and strengths.

When that was all finished, they met back up at the room where they would be staying while they were there and told to wait until a meal was prepared. The whole event had gone by smoothly and without incident, which was kind of a weird thing for them because something always happened.

They were all in their room, currently waiting for the brothers to return.

"What do you think they're doing?" Momo voiced to the room. "I mean I know they're important but you would think they would be back by now."

"That's exactly why they're not back right now." Fuji commented.

"But I mean, shouldn't they get the most rest out of everyone because they're so important? I mean, the kid's only sixteen. He shouldn't have to go through this."

"Sounds like you're going soft." Kaidou mumbled.

"Momo, you're what, one- two years older than him. _None of us_ should be going through this." Kawamura input.

"Yeah but we chose this life. He should be enjoying himself, not being hunted down by military personnel to be dissected."

"How is he supposed to enjoy himself in this world Momo? Even if he wasn't born with the gene, he would probably be hunted and used as a test subject nonetheless."

"But-" Momo huffed out a sigh in defeat. "It's just not fair."

Nope. It wasn't fair. None of them should have had to be going through with that. They should be living a normal life as teenagers in school and worrying about girlfriends and sports; not about when the enemy is going to attack.

There was a knock on the door before it opened. Echizen entered, ignoring everyone and finding an open bed and flopping onto it. Ryoga thanked someone at the door then ultimately followed his brother's example.

"They sure took their sweet time with everything didn't they?" Inui voiced.

"I can say, even after the things I've heard about your tests Inui-san, I would probably have preferred it to what we had to go through." Ryoga muffed through his pillow.

"You make it sound like you were tortured." Tezuka said. "What happened?"

Ryoga moved the pillow so they could hear him properly. "It was just test after test; like a physical from hell. I understand the need to test physical attributes, but having us face off against other people in the same day? We hadn't even eaten yet. And when we were back in the actual lab, sure- take a blood sample for whatever and you want a hair? I won't miss one but someone went as far as to ask Chibisuke for brain tissue. _Brain tissue._ Can you believe it?"

"I didn't think there was someone here that could do that-" Kawamura said.

"You said no right?" Kikumaru asked.

"Of course I did. I'm not going to let some crazed scientist poke around in my little brother's brain because _he needs it for his research._ The guy didn't even look like he should be wearing a lab coat." He huffed in frustration. "They told me I was done and should get cleaned up but they had a few more things to do with Chibisuke; wouldn't even let me wait for him. We only got finished eating just now."

"Almost like they forgot you're only human." Oishi said. "Does it have anything to do with whoever you met with beforehand?"

A sudden look of surprise crossed Ryoga's face before turning into a smile. "No, that was a welcomed surprise actually."

"Well who'd you see?" Momo asked.

"Our cousin, Nanako." There was a moment of silence. "The day of the fire, she was at a friend's house. She said Cardinal agents had brought her to where Ryuzaki-san was stationed and- well I don't really know. She just said she's basically been here helping out with things here with Ryuzaki-san's granddaughter; food, laundry- even some first aid training. I'm just happy to know she's been all right after all these years."

"What are the odds?" Everyone smiled, happy that they were able to reunite with a family member. It was a rare occasion that any of them saw their families, being in the military and all but there was also great risk of putting them in danger when they did get to see them. No doubt Chargarde had their information and was waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it in an assault.

"That actually brings us to a question, which Momoshiro-san, Fuji-san and I have already talked about; what are we going to do when this is all over?" Ryoga looked to his brother who was seemingly out like a light. "Nanako has been able to stay here because Ryuzaki-san has ties to her and us, but her influence can only go so far and when this is done, we're most likely going to have to leave and be put into a refugee camp somewhere."

"My idea's sounding pretty sweet right now isn't it?" Momo smirked. "Even if you're not here, you'll be with the Seigaku squad. You cousin would be able to come too because she's had basically year here helping out."

"What are you talking about Momo?" Kikumaru asked.

"He means one of their options is to join our squad and have a permanent residence and basic safety." Tezuka answered. "I have no opposition to this but have you talked it over with each other and Ryuzaki-sama?"

"Well the issue came up when we were being escorted to the labs and I'm pretty sure she thought it was fine if we wanted to but _someone_ hasn't put in his two cents one way or the other for it." Ryoga exaggerated the last part of the sentence and faced his brother, hoping for some sort of response but was ultimately met with silence. He sighed. "If he doesn't want to then I don't want to force him but it would be nice to _get some feedback instead of acting dead to the entire world_."

Echizen merely turned his back to his brother and covered his head with his pillow.

"I swear it's like talking to a wall."

"Perhaps they worked his harder than you expect." Oishi said. "But what do you think you're going to do?"

"I'd- like to join your squad. Even if we're put in danger, Nanako would be safe for the most part. We'll probably talk more with Ryuzaki-san tomorrow."

"Do you have an idea of what you're even going to be doing tomorrow?" Inui asked.

"Well today was supposedly our only day of 'rest' but I know Ryuzaki-san wasn't pleased with how long everything took so we might get another day tomorrow or we're going straight into planning for an assault. I'm hoping for the former but we're probably going to go straight into a meeting about what to do about us."

"If you'd like to get some sleep then we'll keep the noise level down." Kawamura suggested. "Or maybe it would be better if we all just went to sleep."

Everyone decided that was probably the best idea, mainly for Echizen's sake seeing that he hadn't even attempted to throw a comeback at Momo after he had made an incredibly stupid joke.

He didn't tell Ryoga the separate tests they had him do and honestly that's what Ryoga was worried about. He knew they were safe for the most part but he didn't like the idea of people sticking his brother with needles or- subjecting him to strange occurrences just to see if his outcome was different from everyone else's just because he was born with two genes. He was only sixteen for crying out loud.

Either way, everyone would have to wait until tomorrow to see what was planned.

* * *

Once again, Echizen woke up when everyone else was asleep and once again- it was for the bathroom. He hoped this time he wouldn't run into someone who was his _companion_ and have an awkward confrontation. He was both glad and disappointed that the cat Kaidou usually created wasn't there; generally it was annoying to have something follow you around literally all the time but it put his mind at ease to be able to hold and mess around with it. But it was probably the same situation just like in the Rikkaidai Base; it was probably wandering around somewhere and sending Kaidou a mental map.

When he exited the room, he was a bit startled to actually see someone standing guard outside the door. Typical though, of course they would be guarded. They both ignored each other and Echizen made his way to the bathroom. When he was finished, he started making his way back and was stopped, but this time it wasn't from some military personnel but Nanako.

"What are you doing up Ryoma-kun? Shouldn't you be resting for tomorrow?"

"I had to use the bathroom. What are you doing up?" He couldn't help but feel a bit awkward. Yeah they were family but after not seeing each other for so many years, thinking that the other was dead, it was a little hard to go straight back into- like they haven't seen each other for a week.

"Aah, when I can't sleep I normally go in the kitchen and begin preparing the food for breakfast. It's normally on nights like this but it seems it's a bit more difficult to focus than normally. I suppose it's because of everything that's happened in such a short amount of time." Her tone was anxious. She probably thought it was just as awkward as he did. "I mean with everything that you've- been through, aren't you having trouble sleeping?"

"Hardly, the only thing I seem to want to do is sleep." He leaned against the wall and stared at his hands. "Maybe because of what they did to me today or probably because since I'm special and need to make up for the past years of not knowing anything. But that doesn't really make sense; I have more power so I should be able to last longer than everyone but it seems like it's the opposite."

"I think it makes sense. Just because you have more power doesn't mean the same for your energy levels. You're still young and if you're comparing yourself to your friends then you're right where you should be. They've been training themselves for years and you've only just figured out you can control two powers; and everything you've been through up to this point, I can tell that you're stressed out about everything. You don't need to push yourself for the sake of others."

Nanako had hit the nail on the head. He was indeed stressed about everything and he probably was pushing himself- but wasn't it because it was ultimately his fault?

"Do you want to talk about it? Everything that's happened that you haven't been able to talk to anyone about? It'll probably make you feel better."

Echizen did that. The two of them sat in the corridor and Echizen told Nanako everything that he remembered, starting at the fire and ending about the confrontation with the two Chargarde agents at the Rikkaidai base. Nanako just sat there quietly nodding, letting him take his time in saying everything. She didn't push for details or ask questions.

Neither knew how much time had passed but they didn't mind. When Echizen was finished talking, they sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Nanako was happy her cousin was able to open up to her and Echizen was relieved to finally get the weight off of his chest. He felt like he could breathe easy once again for a little while. And he was tired; not the exhausted tired he's been but like-real tired, like he needed a nap to regain his energy.

Nanako caught on when he couldn't say one sentence without yawning. "Well then Ryoma-kun, why don't you head back and get some sleep? I heard they've got some big ideas for you tomorrow."

Echizen smirked. "Tell me about it. Everyone's had big ideas planned for me since, well, forever." The two of them started heading their separate ways and before Echizen turned a corner he called out to her. "Nanako, thanks for listening."

Nanako just smiled happily and continued on her way.

* * *

 **Okay. This was a little difficult to write.**

 **Welp, there it is. I know it wasn't full of action and a bit shorter than the others but I thought it came out nice. And yay look, Nanako! I feel like she needs more writing time.**

 **I'm kinda scattered right now; I'm looking for a job and a car and that's stressing me out majorly so sorry if this chapter isn't all awesome like the others.**

 **Please forgive grammar and spelling and bad puns and angst and stupidness and boringness and corniness and I'm sorry.**

 **Hope ya liked it! See ya later!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Eeey okay so I hope everyone's had a good… whatever it's been. A month of wait? Probably. I think we're getting close to the end. If I really stretch it out then I can probably get it to twenty chapters but I don't think I'll get to that because in all honesty, I have other stories I wanna write and I need to finish this one before I start any new ones.**

 **I'm gonna say this now, I had this like mostly finished and my computer decided to die and I hadn't saved in a while so now I have to rewrite more than half of this and I'm just really angry so if this chapter sucks that's why.**

 **Okay so here's chapter 14. Enjoy!**

* * *

The morning to come was definitely one of the better ones Echizen had if a while. He was still tired, given that he was up at ungodly hours but he felt like he could actual function properly. Ryuzaki must have said something to the scientists or whoever was in charge because the group had expected to wake up at the crack of dawn like normally but they were able to sleep in a bit which was nice on their part.

When the group was finally awakened and after they had breakfast, they were all sort of separated; Momo was taken by the horticulturists so he could help with the plants, Kaidou by the head security officer, Oishi by the head medical officer, Kawamura was fought over by squad leaders who were asking for demonstrations in hand-to-hand combat, Inui by scientists, and Fuji by the strategy leader. Tezuka, Ryoga, and Echizen were being escorted to a meeting from which left Kikumaru to fend for himself for the whole day, though after a few minutes of wandering around, he ran into a shy girl with long brown braids who looked about Echizen's age. Since he really had nothing else to do, he offered to help with whatever she had to do and soon he found himself helping her do laundry.

"Eeh? So you're Ryuzaki-sama's granddaughter." Kikumaru commented absentmindedly. "I guess it figures you would be here where it's safe, you'd probably be a prime target for enemies."

Sakuno nodded. "I've- seen more death than I would have ever liked to see. Grandma said this place would be safest but I could only stay if I worked." She stopped when the door opened and another girl filed in. "Ah, Nanako-san!"

"Nanako-?" That name. He had just heard that name from someone.

"Ah Sakuno-chan. You've found someone to give your chores to then?" Nanako joked with a smile to the red head.

"A-A- no no, nothing like that!"

"I'm only joking. Hello I'm Meino Nanako. You're part of the Seigaku Squad right? Thank you for taking care of my cousins." She bowed.

"Ah!" A lightbulb went off in his head. "You're Ochibi's and Ryoga-san's cousin!"

"You must be Kikumaru-san." She laughed at the confused look on his face. "I might have looked through everyone's files when I was younger but it's also from the description my cousins gave when you all arrived yesterday. They seem to enjoy your squad's company quite a bit. Please continue to look after them."

* * *

"What kind of soil are you using? Do you compost or have some sort of fertilizer mix?" Momo grabbed a handful of dirt and it seemed to be full of minerals and nutrients. "Or maybe something in between? I mean all in all this is cool but if you were to mix fertilizers in with the dirt instead of just spreading it on top then you'd get a more bountiful harvest."

"You can tell all of that by just a handful of dirt?" A scientist said. "I never knew you'd be able to figure all of that out with such little information, even if you have the gene for earth. It's astonishing."

"It's not that difficult to tell really." Momo was basking in the glory the others were giving him. "Also see how the leaves are bigger and greener over here compared to here? Here's not getting the same level of nutrients." He put his hand on the ground and mumbled something. All the plants in the greenhouse started to grow.

"As expected from an earth user." A person, about Momo's age commented. He had red-orange hair down to the nape of his neck, drooping violet eyes, and wore a white cap much like Echizen.

"And you are?"

"Me? My name's Choutarou Ootori. I'm a part of the Hyoutei squad and I thought my talents would be of help here."

"I thought you kinda looked familiar."

"I'm able to create light." To show what he meant, he said a spell and a small ball of light appeared in his hand and started floating around the greenhouse. "I've got my control down and figured- what's so funny?"

Momo was practically bent in half, trying and failing to conceal his laughter. "You're a giant, walking, talking, flashlight! Ha! Wait until Mamoshi hears this!"

Choutarou stood there, slightly embarrassed because everyone in the general vicinity was trying to stifle their laughs.

"Aah, sorry, sorry. Light's important; I bet with the two of us here, we could at least double, if not triple the crops."

"We were warned you think about nothing but food." A scientist commented.

"Ha? I'm thinking about the greater good! Do you understand how much food you'd be able to store if the two of us help out with this place while we're here?"

"All right, all right. If you two want to help with the food production then go right ahead. No one will stop you."

"Yosha!" Momo looked excitedly at Choutarou. "How about it Flashlight-san? You can control the amount of energy put into your light right? It's been a while since I was able to do something like this."

Choutarou just rolled his eyes. "Fine, but don't call me Flashlight. My name is Choutarou Ootori."

* * *

The outside practice grounds were in an uproar. All of the people that were normally stationed there were getting a laugh at their peers because it seemed like every other person had claimed to be strong and wanted a match with Kawamura. He had no problem with it and took on one person after the other without breaking a sweat.

"KORRA. IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?" He taunted at everyone on the sidelines, who merely laughed. Of course he was in burning mode.

"Kawamura-kun, you've beaten everyone who's strong enough to challenge you." Someone yelled out.

"Not to mention brave enough." Another added.

"Hold up everyone, I think I have some opponents for him." A soldier walked to their area with three people following. "Ishida Tetsu- the powerhouse of the Fudomine branch, older brother Ishida Gin- powerhouse of the Shitenhoji branch, and Muhiro Kabaji- powerhouse of the Hyoutei branch."

"A powerhouse brawl?"

"The three of them have already agreed to it so why not?"

"Kawamura-kun has already fought with so many people though. He might not-"

"NO PROBLEM. I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON. LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO!"

Everyone in the surrounding area sweat dropped. No one could stop Kawamura when he was in his burning mode.

"All right then, how about Kawamura-kun against Gin-kun first and we'll see how to goes from there?"

Gin nodded and stood opposite of Kawamura. The people surrounding them had begun making bets on who would beat who and shouting at the two of them to hurry and start but they only seemed to observe each other; that is until Kawamura made a move.

"MORUZE! BURNING!"

* * *

Kaidou was currently sitting in a rather dull security room and had been sitting in there for about fifteen minutes with another security officer. All he was told was his opinions were wanted on the security system they currently had but he didn't really know what to do. The only security they ever had in their camp was him and his animals that could go anywhere, not cameras set up only capturing sections.

"So- what do you think Kaidou-kun?" The officer asked. Actually it was the first thing that had been said since he entered the room.

Kaidou raised his eyebrow. What was he even supposed to tell them? "Is this really the whole base?"

"Basically. There are a few blind spots but that's in the least used parts of the base so we figured it wouldn't really matter."

"Aren't those spots the most likely to be hit if the enemy would attack? It shouldn't matter if those spots aren't used. The security should cover the whole base no matter what the usefulness of it is."

"What would you suggest we do then? We don't exactly have the resources to add more cameras at the moment. What was your security like at your base?"

"It was just me." When the officer gave him a confused look he continued. "We didn't exactly have a _home base_ like this one; we were constantly moving. Since I'm able to conjure things, mainly animals, I was put in charge of security matters. It's simple to be able to conjure multiple and not give them any task except to observe and generally every hour or so they would report whatever had happened then I would report it to our captain."

"That sounds pretty intricate. Would you be able to give me a demonstration?"

Kaidou stood and closed his eyes. He didn't know which animal would be best for the base but figured mice would probably be the most inconspicuous seeing how they would literally be able to get into every nook and cranny. He voiced a spell and dozens of mice started appearing on the floor. He waved his hand and they all went running through the walls.

"Was that it?" The officer asked, looking a bit horrified. "You don't need to give those commands or anything?"

"I did. I'm telepathically linked with everything I conjure. That's how they report. When the day is done, the fade."

"Okay that puts my mind at ease. I thought they would all come back and somehow talk to you one at a time." That made Kaidou smirk. "Okay what do you think about this?"

* * *

The medical bay was hectic. Oishi, along with several other doctors plus the head were currently rushing to the labs. Several scientists had complained about being poisoned. When Oishi and the others had reached the labs, almost everyone was passed out on the floor.

"Oi, get it together! What happened?" A doctor had gathered a scientist by the shoulders, hoping to receive some sort of response but only got a moan.

"Oishi-kun, help me with them!" The head ordered.

Oishi sweat dropped. He'd seen these _symptoms_ many times before; being passed out and feeling dizzy, head lulling to the side, general feeling of death. He sighed and crossed his arms. He took special note of the empty pitcher on one of the tables.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Inui!"

At his name, Inui popped his head into the main isle. "Oh Oishi. What are you doing here?" His glasses gleamed as he wrote down things in his notebook.

Oishi held the pitcher in his hand. "Is this what I think it is?"

Inui could see a small rage boiling. "Before you assume anything, I merely set it down on the table. I gave no indication anyone should drink it."

"What are you talking about?" A doctor asked.

Oishi sighed. "These people haven't been poisoned. They just need to rest and drink lots or water. Inui, don't use these people as test subjects for your drinks. They're only human."

Inui smirked. "That's what makes them the best subjects."

* * *

"Fuji-kun, I'm not saying your idea to _merely take them by surprise and stab them in the back_ is wrong, but we simply do not have the correct resources or power to do so at the moment." The strategy official said. "We might be able to take them by surprise around the back but only if we have some sort of distraction at the front."

"A pincer attack might be a better move." A boy with long dark blue-black hair that reaches his chin and has fair skin commented. "For the sides might be even better if we're going to attack just from the front. But why not just go for the full circle and surround them? I mean there are five branches working together at the moment. One could take each side and two could go in the front. Or would it be better for two to go in the back? Perhaps we should split up the remaining group and place them amongst each branch to there would be an even number-"

"With all due respect Shinji-kun, we still need to assess everyone's skills. From then we should be able to figure out how we should group everyone."

"He has a point though." Fuji said. "A pincher attack might be better, even if it is just from the front and back. Perhaps if we kept a squad or two lying in wait on either side."

"Like I said, we'll deal with that when we come to it. For now why don't we just come up with a regimen for each squad and see how they would handle themselves in certain scenarios?"

* * *

Tezuka, Ryoga, Echizen, and Ryuzaki were sitting in a rather large conference room, along with other commanders and, Echizen guessed, other captains of several squads. Directly next to him was someone who looked a bit like Momo; same brush head hair style but blonde, and seemingly there alone. Next to him was an older man in a suit with a bad comb over and he appeared to be there with someone, who could only be described as a purple haired monkey. The next was a man who wore a fishing hat and had a habit of biting toothpicks; his companion had his left arm wrapped, most likely from some injury.

Across from them were a red haired lady and an angry looking youth with medium brown hair that's spiked in the back and with long side bangs in the front. There were two seats left unoccupied which Echizen assumed was for another group but most likely couldn't make it. At the head of the table sat a man, not too skinny but not too fat either but he didn't look like he belonged in the military at all.

"Thank you for coming." The head addressed everyone.

"Though it looks like not everyone could make it." Fishing hat said as he gestured to the empty seats.

"Yes, well I had been informed the Rikkaidai branch wouldn't be able to make it because of- a current situation." He stole a glance at the three Seigaku boys. "Either way, they have sent over reports and said they would side with Seigaku when the decision comes down to it."

"What makes them so certain they'll agree with them in the first place?" Blonde Momo asked.

"Because-" Ryuzaki started "They already had to deal Seigaku squad before this meeting was called so they had time to discuss with each other what the best options would be."

"Let's get straight to business then." The red headed lady said. "First as a reminder to all of you, my name is Hanamura Aoi and I'm the commander of the Josei squad and this is the captain Takahisa Kajimoto. Second of all, the reason we're here is because of you two right?" She pointed to the brothers.

"Yes, is it true?" The suit man asked. "Were you really born with two M-Genes?"

The whole room, sans the three Seigaku members, was staring at Echizen who suddenly wanted to shrink away. He gave a small nod in response.

"What's this?" The monkey asked. "I heard this brat was supposed to be cocky and powerful. I refuse to believe he has two genes."

Echizen frowned and looked to Ryuzaki who nodded at the silent question. Echizen held up one hand and a fireball appeared, then the other with a small ball of electricity and smirked when he saw the other's faces. "Is this too much for your monkey brain to handle?"

"Monk- how dare you!"

"Settle down Atobe." The man in the suit, who Echizen now knew as Tarou Sakaki, thanks to Tezuka whispering it to him, commented. "You're the one that riled him up in the first place."

Atobe scoffed as Echizen smirked and let his power fade from his hands.

"How were you able to do that?" Kajimoto questioned. "How did you use your power without uttering a single word?"

"That's not something that could easily be explained." Ryoga answered. "We've both been able to do it but he has more of an extensive range on what he can create."

"What about you then?" Yoshino Akazawa, currently known as Blonde Momo asked. "What's your power and your extent?"

Ryoga clasped his hands together and slowly brought them apart, holding a small crystal unicorn in between them. "I'm an ice user and this is how far I can go without actually having to say words."

"Interesting." Osamu Watanabe, fishing hat, commented.

"As everyone can see, this is the reason Chargarde had been after them." The head or Ishikawa Hiroyuki said. "We need to figure out a plan on what to do about our current situation. You should all be well aware that we've located their primary headquarters. This is our chance to finally take them out."

"And to do that, you need all of our squads to cooperate." Kuranosuke Shirashi finished. "I don't understand why we would need an official meeting do decide that."

"We're here to decide the best plan of attack." Kajimoto said. "And to figure out who will lead the attack no doubt."

"Isn't the obvious choice Seigaku? The people who are the cause of why we're attacking in the first place do reside in our ranks." Tezuka voiced.

Atobe jeered. "Though they're not a part of your ranks are they? They're technically innocents who just happened to be caught up in our battle."

He had a point; the brothers didn't have any military training except for what they learned from Seigaku in the past few weeks and they were supposed to live a normal life but then everything went to hell and the notion of living any sort of normal life was thrown out the window. But then again the definition of _normal_ had changed drastically.

"Then let's enlist them." Ryuzaki suggested.

"You can't be serious. The older brother maybe but the younger is still a child." Osamu objected.

"Why not? You have that youngest in your squad too. What was his name again? The red haired boy?"

"Kintaro was an exception." Shirashi said, trying to defend his commander.

"Because he had nowhere to go after what happened to him?" Ryuzaki was a bit peeved.

"Doesn't that mean that we have the same exception?" Ryoga asked, also peeved because everyone had been talking like they weren't there. "What about us Mr. Commander? Don't we get the same exceptions, seeing as our parents were murdered in front of us as Chargarde tried to take us? What are we supposed to do when- _if_ you manage to take their HQ down? Go back to our normal lives before all of this happened?" The room was silent at Ryoga's outburst. Everyone was hung on the _if_. In all honesty, they would most likely need the brother's help to really take them down.

"I have no issues with joining if it means Chargarde will finally be stopped." Echizen absentmindedly said as he played with his powers. "Besides there's no real point in being stuck in the past. You can't change what happened and can only move on and try not to make the same mistakes."

"The brat's actually got a point." Atobe said.

"My name is Echizen Ryoma, you purple haired monkey."

"All right all right." Ishikawa interrupted before a fight could break out. "If there's no further objections, the Echizen brothers will official be initiated into the Seigaku squad and they will lead the attack on Chargarde's HQ."

"Am I right to assume that we have a limited amount of time to train them for the assault?" Aoi asked.

"You'll all have a week to prepare. Any longer and Chargarde will most likely catch on. You're all dismissed."

* * *

 **Okay so after I rewrote all the stuff that was gone when my computer died, I had a thought of several schools coming in and helping but I really only know how to write Hyoutei and Rikkaidai so those are the main ones and all the others are just sides because I don't know their personalities. They'll still be there in the background but probably won't really be mentioned.**

 **Yay so there it is. I know this one is also kinda boring but I swear next chapter will have some good stuff going on.**

 **Please forgive grammar and spelling and stupidness and laziness and corniness and unintended angst and bad puns and I'm sorry.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay so I've had a while to think about what's going in this chapter because that's how I normally get to sleep and whoooooo I got some things for you all to read. Well, at least for the first bit of it.**

 **Also most of the time when I'm writing I have no internet so I can't look up character profiles to find out their personality so don't expect too much with lots of characters.**

 **Okay so here's chapter 15. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was just after two when everyone seemed to be congregating towards the mess hall. As Tezuka and the brothers, along with the other captains entered, they noticed an exceedingly large amount of people most likely from all the other branches. It was sort of strange to see so many people around their general age gathered in a single place at once. The group that had just entered started to dissipate and everyone headed for the table their squad had claimed.

"You all took your time I see." Fuji voiced with a smirk. "What did the verdict turn out to be?"

"We have a week to train with the other squads and come up with battle plans." Tezuka answered. "We were able to somewhat discuss the training regimen but a few people were- uncooperative."

The group automatically looked to Echizen.

"What did the kid do this time?" Momo asked.

"He refuses to work alongside Atobe-san." Ryoga answered. "You know the captain of the Hyoutei squad; says the monkey smell will wash off on him. Honestly he's just pouting because he finally found someone who's more arrogant than he his."

"I'm _not_ pouting." Echizen shot out. "Why should I have to listen to someone who talks like he owns literally everything around him? He acts like a child with his _Ore-sama_ this and _Ore-sama_ that, thinking that he's _so_ important. I swear he's like the reincarnated Narcissus."

"See? Pouting." Echizen rolled his eyes and turned away from the group.

"Mou Ochibi you can't do that. Nanako-san wouldn't like it." Kikumaru said.

"Have you met Nanako?" Ryoga asked.

"Yep! After everyone went off on their own, I was left to wander around and I ended up doing laundry al day with Nanako-san and Sakuno-chan."

"Sakuno-?"

"She's Ryuzaki-sama's granddaughter. She's pretty cute. Ochibi let me set you guys up!"

"Kikumaru-san, his love life is the least of our problems right now." Ryoga sweat dropped. "What have the rest of you been up to?" He was mainly looking at Kawamura who looked a bit beat up.

"I've been out on the training grounds." Kawamura answered. "Since I was beating all of the people here, they decided to bring people from other squads for us to spar. It was Ishida Tetsu, his older brother Ishida Gin, Muhiro Kabaji if I remember right. They're all really good sparring partners. I couldn't find an easy way to beat them."

"So you did beat all of them then."

"Well no, I was caught in a deadlock with all of them and the onlookers had to tell us to stop. We planned on being out there again later to see if we could gain ground on each other or not. What about you Fuji?"

"I was in a conference room with Shinji-kun from Fudomine. We were trying to figure out what the best course of attack would be but every plan we thought of kind of turned into a tangent about complete nonsense."

"Well I was in the gardens they have here." Momo quickly interjected. "There was also this guy from Hyoutei, I think his name was Choutaro or something. Get this though, he can make light. He's basically a giant flashlight. Can you believe it?"

"That's not a very common power." Inui said. "If you're able to create a plan of attack between the two of you, it would strengthen our prowess greatly."

"Is that it?" Kikumaru asked. "Aren't you going to tell everyone what you did all day?"

Inui's glasses gleamed but it was Oishi that answered. "We were both in the labs. Inui thought it would be a good idea to test out his juices on the scientists and the medical lab was called in because they all thought they had been poisoned."

"Inui try not to make our headquarters hate us." Tezuka sighed.

"So I'm guessing Kaidou-san has been in the security office all day then?" Ryoga said.

Kaidou nodded. "I don't want to go back there. It was possibly the most boring thing I've ever done."

Everyone laughed at that. "At least we have the rest of the day t-"

"Don't- finish that sentence." Echizen spat out of nowhere.

"What's wrong?"

"Echizen Ryoma-kun?" Everyone turned to see a blonde female doctor.

Echizen groaned. "Whenever someone says something along the lines of _we can relax now_ , something always comes up."

The doctor gave him a pitiful smile and clapped her hands together. "Sorry Echizen-kun but we need a blood sample. I promise this will be the last thing for a while."

"Didn't you take blood already?" Ryoga asked clearly annoyed.

"It doesn't matter." Echizen stood up. "Let's just get this over with."

* * *

"Sorry about this Echizen-kun. I know you haven't really had any time to actually relax and prepare yourself for what is meant to come in the future." The doctor said as she led Echizen through the halls, not towards the med labs but to the private rooms.

"What can you do when you're a supposed savior of the world?" Echizen rolled his eyes.

"I can only assume." When they reached the room, she had Echizen sit on the examination table while she readied her equipment. "Now this is my personal opinion, despite the rumors that have been going around since this whole mess with Chargarde happened, I don't believe you're some sort of savior. You're just a kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"What rumors?"

"Apparently since Cardinal was formed, there have been rumors about someone coming forth who would be able to put a stop to all of this nonsense and that person would have multiple genes. Seeing as you're the first and so far the only person to be reported as someone who fits that's description, the burden ultimately falls to you."

"Figures." He winced a bit as she started taking blood. "What's your opinion then? If I'm not this savior then who is?"

"I don't believe its one person. I don't think any one person would be able to save the world by themselves. Perhaps is one of the many branches that we have staying with us, it could very well be the one you've been staying with."

"So it still includes me."

The doctor could clearly see the unhappiness on Echizen face. "Ultimately, yes." She finished taking the blood and there was a bit of an awkward and uneasy silence.

"Can I go now?"

"Aah, there was actually one other thing I'd like. Can you hold your arms out in front of you?"

Though he was annoyed, Echizen complied and put out his arms, only to have her slap on a pair of manacles. "What are these exactly?"

"They're power nullifiers, ones strong enough to repress your powers." Her voice had changed. "Please don't think badly of me for this Echizen-kun." Her face and body started to change and after about thirty seconds, she looked like a completely different person.

There was a look of shock, anger, and annoyance on Echizen's face.

"Before you assume anything, I didn't come here to hurt you and I'm not a Chargarde agent. I guess you could call me a middleman. I don't believe Chargarde is right in their methods of doing things but I don't completely trust Cardinal either. Neither side is wholly right."

"What's with these then?" He gestured angrily at the handcuffs.

"Merely precaution. I've been posing as a doctor so I read your file and I know how you tend to- overreact to things sometimes. I also know that your friend Kaidou probably has his little pests running around in here and are listening to everything we've been saying. If word gets out about this, it will cause an uproar; security will be tightened and you'll most likely have someone at your side every second you're here. If you don't want that to happen then I suggest you tell whatever is in here to not report it."

She certainly knew how to get under his skin but there was still something he wasn't sure on. "What about the security camera? Surely they're sending someone down here already."

"That camera has been on a loop ever since we walked into the room."

Echizen sighed. "Fine." He looked around the room and indeed did see a mouse with a lite green glow around it. "You're not to report this to Kaidou-san."

She nodded. "Thank you. First of all my name is Ada. I'm a part of a group of independents who believe both Chargarde and Cardinal are right in some ways. But unfortunately for us, if we try to confront either about our beliefs, we'd probably be killed."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I want you to know that Chargarde isn't as evil as everyone makes it out to be, and Cardinal isn't the wonderful hero either and you should be careful with whom you side with in the end." She took a needle gun out of her back pocket and pressed it against Echizen's neck and pulled the trigger. "I suppose the only good thing right now is Chargarde doesn't know the location of this base."

"What did you just do to me?" There was slight panic in his voice. "What did you just inject me with?"

"You'll thank me later." She shook the syringe with his blood in it. "And I thank you for this. Since I can't risk you running off and telling someone, I'm leaving. You won't see me or my lovely persona again. I'll release you from your manacles when I'm outside." She waved around a keyring with the release on it. "I want you to know, I did mean what I said; you are just a poor kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. You shouldn't have to go through this."

She opened a trap door on the ground and went through it, letting it slam shut behind her.

Echizen was left in a silence, not sure what to think about what just happened. To think someone was able to infiltrate Cardinal's HQ so easily for however long. The fact that no one was the wiser to her scheme was surprising and how she even got there in the first place was something he couldn't really even imagine.

After a few minutes the bindings popped off. He rubbed his wrists and exited the room. He had hoped that none of Kaidou's scouts told him anything because he really didn't want to make a big deal out of it; even though what had just happened was most likely a huge breach in security and _should_ be reported.

Whatever though; he would deal with it when the time came.

* * *

When he was back at the canteen, a number of people had filed out; that is, most of the groups that were staying were gone, including his and to his displeasure, Kaidou was sitting at their table no doubt waiting for him.

"Where'd everyone go?" He asked as he approached the table.

"Fuji-san got Taka-san to put his gloves on and he declared he would beat everyone single handed. Everyone went outside to watch the fights." Kaidou answered. "Echizen, you know that your safety and security are second only to the safety and security of this base right?"

"Kaidou-san-" Of course his scouts would report it to him.

"I understand your annoyance with everything but you can't let personal feelings get in the way of your duty." Echizen was like a child being scorned. "But seeing as you're still technically a civilian and don't _officially_ have a duty to this place, I won't tell anyone _yet._ The moment will come up at some point seeing as I'm due back to the security office later."

"Thanks."

The two of them started to head outside to where everyone else was.

"So you don't know what she injected you with?" Kaidou asked.

"No but I don't feel any different; a little dizzy from the blood she took but other than that nothing." Echizen's hand went to his neck. "She said I'd thank her later though so I can only assume it was something helpful."

"Usually when someone unknown does something to your body, you're supposed to assume the worst." Kaidou sighed. "If you feel any different, ask Oishi-san to give you a look. He'll pry but not nearly as much as the doctors here."

When the two of them got outside, they saw all of the groups, plus a large number of Cardinal soldiers around a circle; inside said circle was Kawamura and Kabaji in a deadlock, although the two of them looked equally beat up.

"How'd it go?" Ryoga asked as the two of them joined.

"She took blood then left." Echizen shrugged. "What are they doing?"

"Fuji-san had Kawamura-san put his gloves on and he promptly declared he was the strongest person here, you can guess what happened next."

"Whose group is the other guy from?"

"He's from the Hyoutei branch." Inui answered. Seeing Echizen's questioning face, he pointed to the purple haired by who was the captain.

"Ah. He's from the monkey's group."

Momo outwardly snorted. "A monkey?"

"He looks like it. Not to mention that he only talks in third person."

"Ochibi that's rude." Kikumaru said. "Monkeys know sign language and I'm sure they talk in first person."

Momo and Echizen started cracking up. Kikumaru, willingly or not, just insulted Atobe, insinuatingly saying monkeys were smarter than he was, was too much for them to handle.

Oishi sighed. "Honestly you three. You shouldn't go around insulting our allies. Besides, Kaidou has the ability to conjure animals so it's not like you've never-" He quickly put his hand over his mouth.

"Ha? What was that Oishi-san?" Momo smirked. "Continue your thought."

"He was going to say this isn't the first time you've seen a monkey." Fuji answered. Oishi blushed and Momo and Echizen laughed even harder.

Ryoga smiled. It had been a long while since he saw his brother laughing so much.

A loud cheer went around the circle; Kabaji was standing over Kawamura.

"Kawamura-kun- lost?"

"No way!"

The two brothers were a surprised. There was no way Kawamura would lose to someone.

"Come on Taka-san!" Momo yelled. "Show them your move!"

"No one has been able to move after Kabaji's ultimate move." Atobe said with a smirk.

"But he _is_ our ally." Shishido said. "Don't we kind of need them to be able to move, Atobe-san?"

"Anyone who can't fight for themselves has no place at Ore-sama's side and shouldn't be at the front lines either. We'll take on Chargarde-"

"DORIA!" Atobe was cut off by Kawamura's yell. "BURNING!"

"There it is." Inui said.

"What just happened?"

"I thought he was down."

"That's Taka-san's secret: Super Burning Mode." Momo said. "The more he gets beat up, the stronger he gets."

"Doesn't that contradict itself?" Echizen pointed out.

"HADOUKYUU!" Kawamura punched Kabaji, knocking him out and sending him flying backwards, landing him at Atobe's feet. "WOW. TOTAL KNOCKOUT. I AM THE GREATEST. HAHA-"

"Why does he start speaking English when he's like that?" Ryoga asked.

"We don't know. It's just a thing that happens." Oishi shrugged.

"Another thing that happens as an unfortunate side-effect-" Inui started. After about a minute of Kawamura laughing and telling other people to be his opponent, he collapsed. "His Super Burning Mode doesn't last too long. He tends to pass out."

"What was the time Inui?" Tezuka asked.

"Conversion time is down by thirty-four seconds but his ability to stay converted stayed the same. We'll have to work on that."

Tezuka nodded. "Momoshiro bring him over here."

"Hai-." Momo uttered a spell and the ground under Kawamura started to move.

"So if being knocked out makes him get like that, what happens if he's knocked out while in that mode?" Echizen asked.

Everyone looked as if Echizen had two heads.

"I've never thought about that before." Inui said. "Though he's not been able to maintain his Super Burning Mode long enough for us to even try to knock him out."

"In theory it should've have the same effect though." Fuji added.

"How is he Oishi?"

"He just needs to sleep and he should be fine." Oishi answered.

"Bring him inside. We'll get his input when he wakes up."

"Finally. Now we really do have the rest of the day to relax." Momo said.

The hair on the back of Echizen's neck stood up. He looked towards the sky and held his hand towards it. He was openly glaring at Momo as a lightning bolt struck his arm. "You just _had_ to say it didn't you?"

Everyone was staring at him, mainly the members of the other branches because they had yet to see any form of Echizen's powers. He put his hand down and started shaking it. There was a large burn mark going down his forearm.

Ryoga saw the burn. "Oi are you alright?"

"That- hurt." That was probably the first time he had ever been hurt from electricity. "That wasn't normal lightning."

"Ooooi! Koshimae!" A red headed boy was waving at him. "Let's have a match!"

"It was probably him."

"I told you not to say it!" Echizen yelled at Momo. "Something always happens when someone says that."

"It's just coincidence!" Momo yelled back. "You're too superstitious!"

"Well… when we were traveling before, if anyone ever said something like that, something always happened." Ryoga said. "It's like they're code words for an assault or something."

"Tooyoma Kintarou from the Shitenhoji branch. He's also a lightning user." Inui said. "A powerful too if he was able to physically injure Echizen. How about it Tezuka?"

"I don't think there's much of a choice since he already attacked Echizen." Tezuka said.

Echizen sent a bolt out to meet the incoming one. "Fine but after this, _I am doing nothing._ "

He sent a ball of lightning hurdling back at Kintarou who easily dodged it and come running at him. Echizen didn't expect him to be so fast. He barely had time to register that there was a fist flying at him. He hadn't sparred with anyone who was proficient in hand to hand and had a gene. He didn't count that one time with Momo because he couldn't maintain his power and also fight hand to hand at the same time. From the looks of it, Kintarou was actually able to do both.

"Take it to the middle of the field Echizen." Tezuka said as Echizen blocked a hit on the edge of the circle where everyone was.

Echizen huffed. "That's easier said than done." He pushed Kintarou away and went towards the middle, dodging an attack on the way.

"Is he going to be all right?" Fuji asked. "He did just have blood taken and is bound to be a bit dizzy."

"Sorry about this Tezuka." Shiraishi said as he and the rest of Shitenhoji joined them. "Kin-chan couldn't wait to have a match when he heard there was another strong lightning user. I was actually going to ask just before he attacked. Now I hear Echizen-kun had blood taken so he's at a disadvantage."

"He'll be fine." Ryoga said. "He's- been through worse. Besides the worst case scenario is he loses and even if that happens, he'll say it was because he got blood taken."

"Waa, Koshimae you're pretty good." Kintarou said. "I've never had a match against anyone this strong before."

"Do you always start your matches with a surprise attack?" Echizen mocked as he stopped another one of Kintarou's attacks.

"Shiraishi always says to catch your opponents in surprise." He ran up to Echizen and started to punch him.

Echizen blocked the punches. "I think he meant your enemies." He caught Kintarou's hands and they were in a deadlock.

"Ahaha! I like you Koshimae. You're way stronger than everyone." His hands started sparking. "I think I can go all out in this fight."

Echizen flinched. He's never felt the pain from being electrocuted before and the burns on his arm on top of that. Kintarou was much more powerful than anyone else he had to fight that had the same gene as he did.

"Hey can't you also control fire?" There was a smile on Kintarou's face. Echizen nodded. "That's so cool! Can you show me?"

Echizen smirked. "If you don't mind being burned then fine." His hands became incased in fire.

Kintarou quickly let go and waved his hands in pain. "Ow ow ow! Waa! That's so cool! Ne Shiraishi did you see that?!" He called out. "He _can_ control two! He didn't even say a spell!" He jumped out of the way of a fireball. "Oi Koshimae I'm talking! Hold on a second!"

"There's no pausing in a real battle." Echizen grinned and continually threw fireballs at him.

"We're not in a real battle!"

"Don't you always have to catch your opponent by surprise?"

Kintarou frowned (pouted). "Fine!" He said a spell and shot a rather large ball of lightning into the sky. Within seconds, several dozen bolts came raining down and rather than dissipate when they hit, they stayed there. They weren't just in the general area of where they were fighting either; they were all over the place.

"Oi Kin-chan!" Shiraishi yelled to him but apparently he didn't hear. "Everyone take cover! Once this gets started, the whole area is done for!"

"What's happening?" Atobe yelled as his and everyone else's groups huddled together as someone made a shield around them.

"No one's ever survived this before!" Kintarou yelled. All the bolts started to collect above the two of them.

 _We'll see about that._ Though this attack could very well injure him completely, his stubbornness wouldn't let him move.

"Ryoma-kun." Echizen's eyes widened as he saw Nanako walking towards the area.

"Nanako!" Everyone else was in a bubble of some sort and Kintarou's attack couldn't be stopped.

The ball of lightning that had formed was huge but in a moment it shrunk then expanded at an intense rate, destroying the ground as it went. Echizen bolted towards Nanako.

After a minute of practical silence and a blinding white light, it died down. There was a gaping hole where the field used to be. The shields everyone had put up had started to dissipate. Everyone saw that the only ground that was left was where their shields had extended to.

"Well- that's some attack." Fuji said peering around at the landscape.

"I didn't expect it to be that powerful." Inui said.

Momo looked like he was going to cry. "Whyyy- the ground did nothing to you. It always caught you when you fell…"

"There, there Momo. You can make it all better again." Kikumaru patted his back, trying to console him.

"I apologize everyone." Shiraishi shouted. "Kin-chan tends _to go overboard_ when he finds a suitable opponent." He was staring into the hole where Kintarou was sitting.

Kintarou looked down and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Shiraishi but- Koshimae is so strong I thought-"

"What did I tell you about using that?"

"-Not to unless my life is in danger…"

"Sorry Kin-chan but you need to be punished." Shiraishi started to unwind the bandages on his arm.

"Anything but that Shiraishi! Please!"

"Speaking of which, where is Echizen?" Kaidou asked.

"Don't tell me he was actually caught in that attack." Oishi panicked.

There was moaning from the back of the group and Kawamura woke up. "Aah, hello everyone. I hope I didn't go overboard."

Momo, in his grief stricken state, knelt next to him. "How could you Taka-san? How could you do this to the earth? It's done nothing but love you." He gestured to the devastation that was around them.

"I did- what? Huh?!"

"Ah, Taka-san you really let loose with your Super Burning Mode this time." Fuji added.

"WHAT!"

"Both of you stop fooling around. Kawamura you weren't the cause of this." Tezuka said and put Kawamura's mind at ease.

"I don't see Echizen anywhere though." Inui said. "You don't think he actually got caught in the blast do you?"

"His stubbornness wouldn't allow him to die right now." Ryoga laughed out. "He probably put a wall up somewhere, ah. He's over by the- building?"

Everyone in earshot turned and saw that there was indeed a bubble of fire and lightning near the building where they came out.

"I know that Echizen is fast but I don't understand how he would be able to clear this distance in such a short time." Inui said.

"Let's go see what the damages are then."

Seeing as everyone was more or less trapped on a small dirt island, Momo created bridges for them all to get to solid ground and amongst the groups thanking him, he distinctly heard Atobe say they we've made off just fine without help. As they got closer, Echizen's barrier dissipated and they all saw him sitting with his back to them on the ground with Nanako while cradling his arm.

"You good Chibisuke?" Ryoga patted his head and got a look at his arm. He flinched at the sight; bloody, burned, and blistered up to the shoulder. "What happened?"

Echizen's face was contorted in pain though Nanako was the only one who could see it at the moment. All he could do was slowly shake his head.

"I had come out because Baa-san needed to speak with him." Nanako started. "When I came out there was this large ball of light expanding and the next thing I know, I'm being shielded over here by Ryoma-kun. I can only imagine he injured his arm then."

"Let me have a look at your arm Echizen." Oishi crouched next to him.

"How close were you when you first tried to talk to Echizen?" Fuji asked.

"Just about to where you all were standing."

"Ochibi was able to clear that distance that quick?" Kikumaru pointed out seeing that since he was the speedster, he was skeptical. He would be able to do it no problem but Echizen was nowhere near his speed.

"I was surprised myself. One moment he was running towards me and the next it was like he vanished then we were over here." Nanako said.

"Maybe he found the need to go faster because you were in danger." Kawamura pointed out.

"Well no harm done." Ryoga said, earning a smack in the legs from his brother with his good arm.

"Waa did I do that to Koshimae?" Kintarou was suddenly looking over Echizen's shoulder as Oishi was tending to it.

"This is why I told you not to use that attack unless your life is in danger." Shiraishi said. "I'm very sorry Echizen. Kin-chan can't seem to hold back when he's excited. If there's anything we can do to make it up to you-"

"I just want to sleep." Echizen mumbled.

"Koshimae's tired? I'll go make a bed for you!" Kintarou ran off into the base.

Everyone in the Shitenhoji branch sweat dropped. "We'll make sure he doesn't trash your rooms." They followed him into the base.

"That's all I can do with my powers right now." Oishi said. "If I speed up the healing process anymore then the new skin will be too thin and weak."

"Thanks Oishi-san." The blisters had reduced in size, the bleeding had stopped, and the burns didn't look nearly as bad but he would still need actual first aid treatment for it to heal properly. "Hey, what did Ryuzaki-san want?"

"I don't know. She just said she needed to talk to you and I should fetch you right away." Nanako answered. "I'm sure you'll be able to rest when you're finished talking with her Ryoma-san."

"I guess."

"Get your arm taken care of before you do anything." Tezuka commanded.

"Yeah, yeah." With that Echizen went off with Oishi to the med lab to get his arm properly taken care of.

"Why is she allowed to talk about resting and we're not?" Momo asked.

"Nanako doesn't have bad luck." Ryoga answered as everyone ventured into the base.

* * *

When Echizen was finished with having his arm wrapped, he was pointed in the direction of Ryuzaki's temporary office. He hoped whatever she wanted was important because he really did just want to have one day of sleeping before all hell would break loose. Also now that he had limited use of his arm, he didn't want to have to use it for anything. Oishi said he would help heal it a little bit day by day but it would ultimately have to heal by itself.

He knocked when he got to her office.

"Enter."

He did as he was told. He took a seat across from her at her desk.

She didn't even glance up at him from the papers she was looking through. "I didn't know that Kintarou had that much energy. How's your arm?"

Echizen snorted. It was wrapped in gauze up to his shoulder, how was it supposed to be? "Stings."

"And I trust it was endured because you got it from saving Nanako?"

"How do you know that?" The incident happened only a few minutes ago and he was positive news couldn't travel that fast.

"You remember when the squad first set out to get to the Rikkaidai base, how you were attacked by one Ota Kenji?" He nodded. "You also remember how he was able to physically change his body into the element he controlled?"

"What am I here for anyways?"

Ryuzaki put the papers down and pulled out a small screen from her desk. "This is direct footage from one of Kaidou's scouts when you sparred with Kintarou. Play it back at twenty-five percent speed as you take off to make sure Nanako is out of harm's way."

Echizen rolled his eyes but played back the footage anyways. He watched as Kintarou's attack expanded, when he ran for Nanako and his arm getting caught. There was a split second where he saw himself pull his arm out of the blast but then he was gone. The screen changed to a different point of view but the time stamp was the same. Nanako looked like she had been struck by an outgoing bolt from Kintarou's attack but a second later he was kneeing besides her near the building, putting up a shield of his own.

He was at a bit of a loss for words.

"Now you see why I called you here." She stacked the papers she was working on and put them in her desk.

"What did- how, I thought that wasn't possible. How did I do that?" He rewound the footage and watched it again.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I had a hunch after the day you were attacked. It seems that Chargarde agents have found a way that can turn them into their power but with the help of experimentation. I figured it would be a good idea to test it out of it could be done without. It seems that your desire to keep Nanako safe was what helped you do it."

A sudden scowl appeared on his face. "The only reason she was out there was because she said that you needed to see me."

"I understand your anger but we needed someone who had a strong, emotional connection with you to see if it truly worked."

"What would've happened if I wasn't able to do that? What if Nanako had gotten caught in that blast? She has no powers; no way to defend herself against something like that."

"That's exactly why we picked her. We needed someone who was completely defenseless." Ryuzaki could feel the room heating up. "Contain yourself Ryoma."

"Do you expect me to keep calm when you deliberately put my family member in danger? She could've died!" Echizen was almost shouting.

"Which is why it had to be her!" Ryuzaki raised her voice to match his. "I would never put anyone in danger if I didn't think the plan would succeed. If I didn't believe you would be able to do it I wouldn't have sent her to fetch you in the first place." She took a deep breath. "She also had agreed to it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Honestly, do you really think I'm so cold hearted that I wouldn't tell her the plan? I had opposed it at first _because_ she was completely defenseless but _she_ insisted."

The room was returning to its original temperature. Echizen put the screen down and slid his good hand down his face then got up from the chair and headed for the door. "Don't _ever_ put her in danger like that again, even if she agrees to it." He opened the door and started to head out but stopped at his name.

"Ryoma." Ryuzaki had another stack of papers in front of her. "Will you be able to do it again?"

Echizen stood in the door frame for a little while longer then exited the office without giving her an answer.

He sighed as he walked through the corridors and to his room, which he was sure was destroyed by a certain redhead. He didn't even know that he was able to do that in the first place so he for sure didn't know if he would be able to do it again. Technically speaking if someone was in the same amount of danger then he would probably be able to do it but he didn't even know what he was thinking in that point except for saving Nanako.

It just hit him; she said that footage was from one of Kaidou's scouts. Did that ultimately mean that Kaidou knew about what just happened? Did he tell everyone about it? He was bound to be hounded about it at some point. Well there was another thing he got to anticipate.

When he got to his room, he was glad to see everything how it was and not completely destroyed. He flopped down on his bed, regretting it slightly as a pained jolt went through his arm. Oishi would definitely be by later to check on him and make sure his arm was healing properly. He just hoped it was much later so he would be able to get some sleep.

* * *

 **Whooooo okay there it is. Longer chapter for everyone because the story's starting to get wrapped up. Man I don't know why I put in like six schools. I don't even know them at all. Oh well I'll think of something.**

 **Please forgive grammar and spelling and corniness and bad puns and angst and stupidness and oh my god I'm sorry.**

 **Hope ya liked it! See ya later!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Okay okay okay so because I was stupid and thought I could actually write six schools in, there's no more Shitenhoji or Josei or Fudomine maybe. There's still gonna be mentions of them but all in all they're gone. I bit off more than I could chew with that and I'm sorry. And the time is around like three or four in the afternoon just so you have reference.**

 **So here's chapter 16. Enjoy!**

* * *

"What do you think Ryuzaki-sama wanted to talk to the kid about?" Momo asked.

"Who knows? Maybe she wants to tell him he needs to be more serious about things. You've seen how he blows things off all the time." Ryoga answered throwing his arms behind his head. "Did she tell you anything Nanako?"

Nanako shook her head. "She only asked if I could fetch him." She lied. She was well aware of what she was walking in to and how that was the opportune time to see if Echizen was capable of his ability.

"Are you all right?" Oishi asked. "I mean with being in that situation with Echizen, it must have startled you."

"I'm fine. It was a bit surprising but being in a facility like this, you tend to get used to the surprising things that happen around you."

"So things like that happen often then?" Kawamura asked.

Nanako giggled. "Nothing quite that exciting but sometimes when everyone's out practicing, things do tend to get a little out of hand and there are- unwanted casualties."

"So does that mean you've been caught up in more thing than just this?" Ryoga asked with a frown.

She just smiled. "Look at the time; I should get started on the meal for tonight. Why don't you all take it easy and I'll fetch you when it's done?" She started towards the kitchen. "Oh if you have any last minute things to speak to the other teams about, you should do it today. I think all except for the Hyoutei group is going back to their bases to prepare after dinner."

"They're already going back after being here for- what? Two, three days tops?" Momo said. "I thought we were going to have a chance to train with them."

"Maybe it was because of a certain someone's demonstration of power." Fuji said.

"What about Rikkaidai?" Kawamura asked. "Do they know about the plans so far?"

"They are supposed to meet us at a halfway point with everyone else to finalize everything but that won't really help if we don't know who works best with who." Inui said. "Though if I could get a list of everyone's gene and their specialties and distribute it to the other groups, we could form our own plans and combine them."

"Get on that as soon as possible Inui." Tezuka commanded. "Kaidou, have you seen anything suspicious since we've been here?"

Kaidou's face showed surprise for a split second. He wasn't ready for Tezuka to ask. He rubbed the back of his head. "There was- I left one of my scouts in the security office all day in case something showed up and while Echizen was getting blood taken, there was no actual footage of it happening."

"What do you mean? Was there not a camera where he was?"

"No, there are cameras all over the medical lab. Nazaki-sensei made sure to point them all out to me when he was giving the tour." Oishi chimed in.

"I asked Kazama-san if she could find any footage of Echizen and she said that he and a doctor she recognized as Nishi had gone to one of the private rooms so they wouldn't have other doctors pestering Echizen for something when they were done. There are cameras in those rooms but in the time Echizen had his blood taken, it showed the room as empty."

"So someone hacked into the cameras." Kikumaru pointed out.

"That's the thing though; there was no alert of any sort of hack in the system. Either the doctor lied and they went somewhere completely different or someone put the camera on a loop."

"It didn't occur to you to have your scouts in the area?" Fuji half scolded.

"With all due respect Fuji-san, there are hundreds of scouts roaming this base as we speak. I can't keep track of all of them and the times I _am_ able to pin point them is because they're usually in danger of being destroyed and send me locations of where they'd been. Plus Kazama-san said that those rooms were rarely used for anything unless there had been a huge fight and, to be perfectly honest, I didn't even know they existed until she told me about them."

Kaidou didn't like lying to his teammates. It wasn't a _complete_ lie though; the camera in the room was indeed on a loop nor did he know about the private rooms until he was told but the way he phrased it, he made it seem like he was told only minutes ago when in reality he was told when he first met Kazama-san. But there was a lot of the base that had no cameras and if he needed to, he would say he sent his scouts there first.

' _He just told off Fuji-san.'_ Momo thought. ' _He's gonna die.'_

Fuji opened his eyes slightly and glared at Kaidou before a smile appeared on his face. "So that's the reason your scouts weren't there then?"

"Now now Fuji, this place is huge." Kawamura said. "I didn't even know there were underground training rooms until Masa-sensei told me."

"There's things underground?" Oishi, Kikumaru, and Momo said at once.

Ryoga sighed. "And I take it that brother of mine didn't say anything to you before you both joined us outside?" Kaidou shook his head and Ryoga huffed. "I'd like to think it's nothing; I really want to hope that it's nothing."

"Maybe it had something to do with Ryuzaki-sama wanting to speak to him." Momo said.

"We _should_ confront Echizen about it-" Inui started. "-but we did say we'd let him rest for the remainder of the day so his arm could heal."

"We'll check with Ryuzaki-sama first and if needs be, we'll ask Echizen." Tezuka said. He turned to Kaidou. "You can confirm that Echizen is in our room?" Kaidou nodded. "Oishi, see what you can find out about this Doctor Nishi; Kaidou see if you can get a visual of her anywhere in the base. You're all free to do whatever for the rest of the day unless told otherwise. Contact me if anything comes up, I'm going to speak to Ryuzaki-sama."

With that, the group split apart from each other. Ryoga was headed with Kaidou to the security office.

"So what's the general process of conjuring something?" Ryoga asked. "I mean for me if it's something simple I just have to think of a shape and it'll appear but I get the feeling it's a bit more complicated for you. Plus you always seem to have eyes on Chibisuke even when you have your scouts out."

"The cat that follows him around all the time is different from the normal scouts; it has explicit instructions to keep a watch on him and only report if there's any suspicious movement to me. It's the same concept with the scouts but they're usually always smaller to use up less energy on my part and they're on a periodic time table of when to report." Kaidou answered. "Those are the times when I sit and ignore everyone."

"And it hasn't always been like that has it?"

"When I had joined and we were infiltrating an enemy base, I had it so everything was reported at once. It got to be too much, all the scouts I had out disappeared in an instant and I passed out. After that I had to train my mind to be able to handle it if I had to stop everything at once."

"Does it hurt? When you have to stop them?"

"When the day is done and they disappear, no but if they're killed by something that has some sort of magical essence, it feels like a pin prick and in the case that they do go down from something other than me, I get sent all the information they captured."

Ryoga snorted. "You have an army of tiny little cameras running around everywhere that can't be destroyed by anything but magic. That's pretty cool." Kaidou rolled his eyes. "Does it have to be animals?"

"They're the easiest to manage. Tried with humanoids, much more difficult than you would think."

* * *

"Nazaki-sensei!" Oishi called as he entered the medical lab.

A man in a white lab coat and balding head peeked around a corner. "Oishi, what's the matter? How your friend doing?"

"Echizen's fine, he in our room sleeping right now. Actually- uh, did you have one of the doctors here call Echizen to get blood drawn? It would've been before we came in earlier to get his arm checked."

Nazaki frowned. "No I don't think I did. I told everyone to leave the poor boy be. We had enough information and bodily fluids from him to last us for quite some time. A boy like him shouldn't have to spend all of his time in the labs." He suddenly grabbed and yelled at the nearest person. "I thought I made it clear not to mess with him!"

"Sensei, Echizen-san hasn't been in the labs today! Not since he came in the last time with Oishi-san!" The doctor pleaded.

"Don't you lie to me! Come on fess up, who took an additional blood sample?"

"It's true Nazaki-sensei; Echizen hasn't been in the lab since I last brought him." Oishi tried to calm him into letting the poor hostage doctor go. "Kaidou had received word from the security adviser that he had been taken to one of the private rooms and we think he had his blood taken there."

"Private rooms?" He let the other doctor go, who quickly ran. "Those rooms are hardly ever used. They're not even set up with proper equipment."

"The doctor that took him was recognized as Nishi."

"Nishi? That can't be right." He rubbed his chin. "She's out on leave; not scheduled to be back for another week or so."

"It's possible Kazama-san was wrong but she seemed positive it was her." A cloud of ill will seemed to envelop Oishi. "Do- are there any pictures? We all saw her when she approached Echizen. I can identify her."

Nazaki led Oishi to Nishi's personal work space. On the desk was a picture of her, who he assumed was her husband, and their children. A bubble of uncertainty began to grow in his stomach.

"That's her, no doubt about it." Oishi said with a frown.

Nazaki frowned to match Oishi's. "Nishi has been on leave for two weeks. Whoever took your friend's blood was not one of our doctors." He could practically see the apprehension rolling off Oishi in droves. "I want you to go talk to your commander. This is a possible security breach and should be reported immediately _but_ , keep it quiet. Talk about it with your squad. We'll try to figure things out here."

Oishi nodded and hurried out of the labs. He didn't know if he should check on Echizen first or speak to Ryuzaki, who was most likely speaking with Tezuka. Echizen said nothing happened in the room though but being the kind of person he is, he wouldn't say anything even if something did happen. He decided to speak with Ryuzaki. There was still a chance that she had something to do with it and just didn't tell anyone about it.

* * *

"What do you think Kaidou was lying about?" Fuji asked as he and Kikumaru wandered aimlessly through the base.

Kikumaru placed his hands behind his head. "I don't think he was lying, maybe not telling us about everything but not lying. Maybe Ochibi told him someone and asked him to keep quiet about it for a while."

"He seemed rather defensive about the whole thing. If that is the case, maybe he wanted to tell us but chose not to because he didn't want to betray Echizen's trust." He placed his hand on his chin. "Maybe we should go talk to Echizen about it."

Kikumaru moped. "Do you think that something did happen to Ochibi but he didn't tell us because he didn't want us to worry? Or maybe Kaidou actually knows exactly what happened but Ochibi told him not to tell us."

"I think you're right on the second part, but Echizen probably didn't tell us because he wanted us out of his hair for a while. You know how he's been complaining about being tired and having no time to himself."

"Why can't everyone just be honest about things in the first place?" Kikumaru sighed.

Fuji smiled. "We'll confront him after dinner about all of this."

* * *

"What do you mean you're not at liberty to say?" Tezuka asked in a snarkier tone than intended. "If he's going to be a part of our squad, as its captain I would think I have a right to know about his training."

Ryuzaki shrugged. "As your squads' commander, I have a right to keep information to myself unless I think you're on a need to know basis. Right now you don't need to know. Ryoma didn't even need to know but seeing as everything is revolving around him, he has a right. If he wants to tell you then fine."

Tezuka let out an aggravated sigh. "Will you at least tell me why he was scheduled to have blood drawn today? I would've thought everything was finished."

"What are you talking about? The labs told me they were done with all their tests. I never authorized for any tests today."

"Before the fight he had, a doctor came in the canteen and told everyone that they needed one more blood sample for something."

The room was silent for a moment before a new voice entered the room.

"Actually, none of the doctor in the med lab saw Echizen today." Oishi said as he shut the door behind him. "I spoke with Nazaki-sensei and he said the only time any of them saw Echizen was when I had brought him in to get his arm bandaged up. Not only that but the doctor that took him, Nishi-sensei has apparently been on leave for a while and isn't due back for another week or so."

"Are you certain?" Ryuzaki asked.

"Yes, I confirmed it was her that we saw in the canteen but she's been gone. I think Kaidou's reviewing footage to find what room they entered then he'll send scouts there to see what he can find out."

"Wouldn't it be better just to confront Echizen about this whole thing?" Tezuka pointed out.

"We all promised to let him be by himself for a while though…"

"Let him be, at least until after dinner." Ryuzaki said. "God knows he's been through a lot in the past weeks with zero time alone."

* * *

No matter how hard he tried, Echizen couldn't fall asleep; the tingling in his arm was to blame for that. Also most likely because he was anticipating someone busting in through the door and hauling him up to question him about what really happened in the lab room. Kaidou had most likely told them all something because someone probably asked. All he had to do was wait for the literal, and non-literal, storm to roll in.

As if on que, there was a click of the door and footsteps. He mentally groaned; it was if the gods were against him. He laid there pretending to be asleep, waiting for the person to raze him awake and speak to him about something. Five minutes passed, and then ten and they still hadn't disturbed him. Perhaps everyone was actually planning on letting him sleep. There was a sudden crash that jolted him out of any tired feeling though. He rolled over to see that the one in the room was Kawamura and he had accidently kicked over a folding chair.

"Kawamura-san?"

"Aah, sorry Echizen. Did I wake you?" Kawamura sheepishly fixed the chair. "I guess a sound like that would've startled anyone awake. Sorry."

Echizen sat up and waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I couldn't really sleep anyways."

"How's your arm?"

"Tingles a bit; I don't know if it's the medication or what Oishi-san did but it doesn't hurt. How about you? Looked like you took a bit of a beating today, passed out twice if I remember."

"Heh, I came here to sleep it off actually. It's been a while since I've used my Hadoukyuu."

The two of them sat in a bit of an awkward silence.

"Kawamura-san, can I ask if anyone was planning to come speak to me about anything?" Echizen lay back down.

Kawamura was slightly surprised. "Well we do have something to speak about but figured it would be best to let you sleep until dinner because you really don't get time to yourself then speak afterwards."

Echizen audibly snorted. "Figures, the one day I get to myself and I can't sleep at all. Does the conversation have anything to do with getting my blood taken?"

"Yes actually."

"Can I talk to you about it? I don't think I'll be able to sleep until I get it off my chest."

"Hold on a second. Kaidou-san I know you're listening. Hook everyone up to hear this so it won't have to be repeated." Kawamura said to the cat that was sitting somewhere in the room. After about a minute the cat settled itself on Echizen's lap. "All right Echizen, go ahead."

Echizen sighed and started to pet the cat. "She wasn't really a doctor here. She said her name was Ada and she was part of an independent group that doesn't believe either side is fully right in this battle and I should be careful with whom I trust. She took my blood then injected me with something that I would _be thankful for later_. Everyone can hear me right?" He turned his head and asked Kawamura who nodded. "Oishi-san if it was dangerous I'm sure something would've happened by now so please don't freak out over it. Anyways after that she left and is gone now I guess. She said I wouldn't see her again."

"That's why they couldn't find her on any of the security footage." Kawamura stated matter-of-factly.

Echizen raised an eyebrow. "How much of that did you already know?"

"We knew the security footage had been tampered with and that the lady that treated you was posing as a doctor that had been on leave. Is that really all that happened Echizen?"

Echizen yawned, a sudden feeling of tired rolled over him. "Yes. If anyone has questions I'll answer them later." He picked up the cat. "How do I turn you off?" The cat went and lay on a chair which made Echizen assume Kaidou had disconnected everyone else from listening.

"Wouldn't it have been better just to discuss it with everyone after it happened?" Kawamura pointed out.

"In all fairness everyone was preoccupied with you at that time and then everything else just kind of played out and we ended up coming to this conclusion."

"Well do you feel better now? Able to get to sleep I mean."

Echizen yawned once more. "I think so."

* * *

It was another few hours until dinner was ready. In that time, Echizen and Kawamura were able to rest from their day but the others were a bit frantic; mainly Oishi more or less panicking like Echizen had told him not to. Ryoga was a bit upset because he confronted Kaidou about the whole ordeal and Kaidou confessed to knowing everything but Echizen had told him not to speak about it. He couldn't hold it against Kaidou though, Echizen put his trust in him and he didn't want to betray it. Tezuka and Oishi had been confirming things with the doctors and were currently on their way to speak to the director of the whole place. Inui was still busy with collecting information about each group and putting battle plans together.

Kikumaru and Fuji had wandered to Momo in the garden.

"Do you think he was in the right?" Kikumaru asked. "I mean shouldn't he have talked to us first? A lot of this could've been avoided."

"He should've told us about the security breach for sure." Fuji frowned. "It's the one thing that tops him on things that should be protected. I'm certain Kaidou knew about it though but chose to respect Echizen's wishes about not saying anything about it until he was ready."

"But security is top priority no matter what."

"I think the kid reminds Mamoshi of his own little brother." Momo interjected. "Just think about it; they're around the same age and Mamoshi hasn't seen him in a long time. What he did was stupid yeah but I can't blame him. I also think Echizen still doesn't trust us completely."

"Why would that be though? We've done nothing to wrong him and it seems Ryoga-san trusts us." Fuji countered. "That just seems like it could be his attitude. By your logic it's as if he doesn't trust his brother either."

"I think he just doesn't want to burden anyone with his problems." Kikumaru said absentmindedly. "Just like how he met the old man in the first town we went to, it turned out to be nothing. Maybe he has a sixth sense and just knows."

"Didn't we see that old man?" Momo thought. "When we were at the Rikkaidai base and Echizen destroyed a building? He stopped Echizen from going out of control didn't he?"

"I didn't see anyone when we found him. Didn't he just stop because he exerted all of his power?"

"Maybe my eyes were playing a trick on me- but I'm certain I saw someone else there."

"That's just another thing to ask Ochibi after we eat." Kikumaru jumped up. "Isn't it about time for dinner anyways?"

"Let's get back then. We don't need to make more work for Nanako-san if she comes looking for us." Fuji said.

The three of them began their trek from the garden to the canteen. They had many questions to ask Echizen but didn't really think they'd get clear answers out of him; not that he would lie about things but if what Momo said was true and Echizen really didn't trust them then he would certainly bend the truth. But then why would Echizen also not trust his brother? Given, Ryoga kept secrets from them but he was ordered to so they couldn't really hold that against him.

As they entered the canteen they were surprised to see Echizen and Kawamura, along with Inui already sitting at the table they claimed as theirs. They had expected to see basically anyone except Echizen to be there first. Much less did they expect him to be looking coherent and having a conversation with Inui.

"All I'm saying is that if you worked together with Atobe then we would most likely be able to break through the front defenses." Inui waved papers. "He is powerful and very skilled at being able to mimic powers and if he were able to do that with you-"

"All _I'm_ saying is no matter how _powerful_ and _skilled_ someone is they won't be able to handle what I do. Inui-san _I_ can't even handle what I do." He pointed back with his thumb. "And there's no way I'm going to let that monkey get ahold of my powers and have to listen to his _Ore-sama is so cool and handsome let me kiss this mirror I have in my pocket_. I would much rather be struck with that hyper kid's lightning again."

"Speaking of that-" Fuji interrupted. "-how's your arm? Were you able to sleep well with it?"

Echizen sighed. "It's starting to sting; rolled over on it a few times and jolted myself awake."

"Oishi can take care of that when he gets here." Kikumaru pointed out. "Ochibi-"

"No. I'll speak after dinner." He sighed guiltily. "I'll tell you everything when we're done eating."

After a bit, everyone else filed in from wherever and after an announcement from the director, thanking all the other groups and branches for being here and for being willing to cooperate on the matter at hand. He also made it a matter to thank Nanako and Sakuno for the work on most of the food, which made the entire canteen burst into cheers. When the announcements were over, the two girls- Nanako almost dragging Sakuno- joined the Seigaku group at their table, which earned the boys glares from the other groups.

The canteen was filled with the sound with the sound of eating for a long while. By the time people had finished eating and filing out to either sleep or whatnot, Ryoga noticed Echizen started eating slower. He internally sighed, knowing full well that his brother didn't want to talk to anyone though he made no attempt to mention it. A little while longer and the canteen was almost empty except for a few people from other groups chatting with each other. Sakuno had also excused herself so she could speak with her grandmother.

"So what do you want to hear first?" Everyone at the table was a bit surprised when Echizen brought up the subject. "You basically know the story from me getting my blood taken though."

"Refresh our memories." Fuji commented. "I get the feeling you left some things out earlier."

"Don't blame Kaidou-san for any of that. I asked him not to speak about it." Echizen saw Tezuka shoot Kaidou a stare but made no move to go any further. "First off, as I told you before, her name was Ada and she said she was part of an independent group that remained unnamed but made it clear that she wasn't our- _my_ enemy. She was able to morph her appearance so she most likely had the M-Gene for Change. That's probably why she was able to leave undetected."

"We didn't find her on any security footage though." Ryoga pointed out. "No ever exited the room after you left."

"There was a trapdoor in the room."

"It makes sense." Oishi said. "The room you went for was private and on ground level; it was probably a VIP room. Most of them have trapdoors in case there's ever a raid or attack and they need to get someone out. Did she tell you what she wanted with your blood or what you were injected with?"

Echizen shook his head. "It was a slightly larger syringe that she took my blood with so I can only guess whatever the normal tests are that you can do with that much. And the stuff she injected me with was clear and from a normal syringe. It just looked like water; I don't feel any different, better or worse. After she did that she said she would never see me again but she didn't believe that I was some all-powerful savior like everyone else thinks I am."

"You weren't harmed in any way?" Inui asked.

"She put power restraints on me so I wouldn't run off and tell someone before she could leave but the popped off after about ten minutes."

"Wait, restraints; strong enough to contain _your_ power?" Momo asked. "Are thy still down there?"

Echizen shrugged. "I don't see why they shouldn't be unless someone checked that room in the time that has passed."

The table was quiet for a bit, contemplating what they had heard.

"What about what happened when you sparred with Shitenhoji's Kintarou?" Tezuka changed the topic, seeing fit.

Echizen turned to Nanako and frowned. "Don't ever do something stupid like that again." Nanako gave him a small guilt-ridden in response.

"What are you talking about Ochibi?" Kikumaru questioned.

"She deliberately put herself in danger to be killed so that old hag could test something."

"What was she trying to test?"

"Do you remember before we arrived at the Rikkaidai base when we were attacked by that person that could actually change into water; how it couldn't be physically possible without being tested on in one way or another?"

"Don't tell me-"

Echizen shrugged. "The old hag probably planned that 'spur of the moment' fight with the Shitenhoji head. Nanako acted as the catalyst to see if I could do it too. The reason Nanako is alive and well right now is proof that I can."

They were all silent for a minute, until Inui pulled out a notepad and started scribbling things down and Fuji laughed. "Well, I can't say I was expecting that but giving the things we've figured out about you already Echizen, I'm not very surprised about it."

"Agreed." Kikumaru slung his arm around Echizen. "Ochibi's full of surprises so now we just kind of expect the unexpected."

 _That contradicts what Fuji-san just said though._ "Before you ask, I don't know how I did it. All I thought about was needing to save Nanako." He shrugged off Kikumaru's arm and stood up, looking at Nanako. "Do _not_ do anything like that ever again." He started walking away. "Don't need me. I'll be on the roof."

Nanako smiled sympathetically at the table top. "I fear I've upset him."

"You've upset me." Ryoga said not looking at her. "Honestly, Nanako you're practically our sister who we've assumed has been dead for years. Finding you alive has been the best thing that's happened to us in a very long time. Please don't put yourself in unnecessary danger for our sakes."

"I'll leave you to your thoughts." She got up from the table. "Ryoga-san if being in danger helps this whole thing be over quicker then I _will_ do my best to help at any cost.

Ryoga sighed as she walked from the canteen. "Now I've gone and upset her." He rubbed his head. "What is it with this family that makes it so tiresome?"

"Isn't that what families are supposed to do though; get on each other's nerves to no end?" Momo smiled but then turned into of remembrance. "Ah I forgot to ask Echizen something before he could run away!"

"I wish he would've let me take a look at his arm before he left." Oishi sighed.

"Why would he go to the roof anyways?" Kaidou asked.

"Maybe there's a storm coming and he needs to blow off some steam." Kawamura answered.

"Seeing as we're all here-" Inui quickly changed the subject. "-I figured we could go over rough battle plans."

* * *

Kawamura wasn't wrong. There was indeed a storm coming, both figurative and literal though the literal one wouldn't be there for at least three or four more days.

Echizen wasn't angry at Nanako for what she had done. In all honesty he probably would've done the same if he was in her position. In that moment when he saw her walking towards him on the field, he was scared- _horrified_ about what would happen if she actually got caught up on the blast. He kept thinking _what if, what if_ ; what if he didn't physically change? What if he didn't get to her in time? Would he have done something else in order to save her?

The words _save her_ and _danger_ kept echoing in his mind. He only realized he was clenching his fists when a twinge of pain shot up his injured arm.

Did he really think he wouldn't have been able to save Nanako if he didn't change?

Did he really doubt himself that much?

Sure, he had been kept in the dark about himself for most of his life but did he really believe he couldn't change anything?

He sighed and held his good arm to the sky. He wished it would start raining; feeling as the water could wash his worries away. These last few hours were probably the last few peaceful ones he would get to himself for a while because starting tomorrow was training and he didn't need his gene for fire to tell him it was going to be a living hell.

* * *

 **Whoa look at all that ending angst.**

 **Two- maybe three chapters left. I dunno.**

 **Well there's this chapter. I finished it. I'm so proud. I've been going through some family stuff and it just put me in the dumps for a while but I'm getting back into it. I have no idea what I'm doing for the next chapter so suggest stuff and help me.**

 **Please forgive grammar and spelling and bad puns and stupidness and corniness and all those different POVs and oh my god I'm sorry.**

 **Hope ya liked it. See ya later!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Okay okay so I have no idea what I'm going to do for this. They're probably gonna start their assault though so look forward for some badly written attack scene.**

 **Also I think I've been neglecting this story a bit because I'm writing another one and I'm always switching which ones I write for like days at a time. If I try I think I can manage to make it a PoT story if I adapt the plot somehow. So maaaaaybe look forward to that in the future.**

 **So here's chapter 17. Enjoy!**

* * *

The morning Echizen woke up to was- not the worst he'd ever had but there have been better ones. The fact was it would've been better if he actually went to sleep at an appropriate time. When he returned inside the previous night, it was later than he had expected; no one had actually gone to the roof to talk to him about anything and in all honesty he half expected someone to get him because he had no sense of time.

The group at breakfast specifically with the Hyoutei group to further familiarize themselves with each other seeing as they'll be working together for at least the next week. Echizen found it rather simple to tune Atobe out completely, not that he was doing anything particularly annoying but just the fact that he talked in third person was enough.

When breakfast was finished, they were split into two groups; those with the M-Gene- Echizen, Ryoga, Oishi, Kikumaru, Momo, Kaidou, Atobe, Choutarou, and Oshitari- Group A and those without- Tezuka, Fuji, Kawamura, Inui, Kabaji, Jirou, Gakuto, Shishido, and Hiroshi- Group B. The non-gene group was led outside to the training grounds by Masa, the one Kawamura had mentioned as being the head training official while the other was taken into a building that seemed awfully familiar to the previous ones that the Seigaku group had more or less destroyed.

"Shouldn't we be outside since we're the ones that basically level a building?" Choutarou pointed out.

"That's the exact reason you're in a building, so you can work on keeping your power level in check if you're in a battle that's inside and you need to keep your presence a secret." The woman that spoke didn't look like a fighter. She looked more like a doctor or scientist.

"Won't our positions already be given away if we're in a fight?"

"Theoretically speaking; think of it as you're sneaking and you need to take someone out quickly and efficiently without use of weapons. Normally a large blast or jolt did the job right? Since we're attacking the main HQ, there's going to be more security and that means more chances to get caught so stealth is our best option."

"I understand where you're going with this, miss-" Oishi started.

"Natomi."

"Natomi-san, but I have the M-Gene for healing. Doesn't that counteract what we're setting out to do?"

"You need to think outside the box Oishi-kun. While you may not be able to actually injure someone with your power, you do have the ability to render them useless. You don't just heal injuries but you make people feel at ease."

"Sorry I'm not really following."

Natomi placed her hand on her chin. "How to explain this- you're aware of what happens when you eat chocolate right? Endorphins are released from the brain and gives one the sense of being happy and also masks pain receptors. You roughly do the same thing. You're power triggers not only Endorphins but also Dopamine, Oxytocin, and Serotonin for the most part plus several other minor chemicals. If you practice enough, you should be able to more or less give someone the sense of being high for a short while."

Oishi nodded and threw a glance at Echizen. "Would you like me to take a look at your arm?"

"I'm not being your guinea pig." Echizen waved him off.

"As for the rest of you, Momoshiro-kun and Kaidou-kun probably have the most experience with this type of training, yes?" The two of them nodded. "You two don't exactly have the same kind of gene as the others though… Atobe-kun has harmony, Ryoga-kun has ice, Choutarou-kun has light-" She heaved a heavy sigh. "Why did I say I would take over this training?"

"Natomi-san, what's your power?" Kikumaru asked.

"Oh I wasn't born with a gene. I'm our field research analyst and trainer for people who do have it."

"Why are you in charge of training if you don't even know the true nature of the gene?" Atobe asked a little more venomous than he had planned.

"Do _you_ know the _true nature_ of your gene? Do you know why you were the one that was _chosen_ from your family to have the gene? Nobody knows the _true nature_ of the genes. No one even knows where they originated, how they choose their host or- or how they mutated into all the different kinds there are now." Natomi's explanation didn't have any malice in it but excitement. "That's what we're here for right now though! We're looking for those answers and how it all started. There's no _true_ nature Atobe-kun, not right now. _But_ if you really meant I don't know the nature of possessing a gene myself, while that may be true, I can assure you I have just as much if not more knowledge than you on the subject."

Atobe huffed causing Echizen to snort in amusement.

She started mumbling to herself. "Okay then, Choutarou-kun, Ryoma-kun, Ryoga-kun, and Momoshiro-kun all have elements, Atobe-kun, Kikumaru-kun, and Oishi-kun fit best into mental and Kaidou-kun and Oshitari-kun are best as arcane. Stealth, stealth, stealth- out of line of sight, secretive; off-hand invisibility. Make the focus go elsewhere, distractions." She clapped her hands. "Okay we're going to be working on distracting."

She pulled out a radio and asked for someone to send E Group. She then pulled out a remote and with the press of a button, the building started shaking and reforming. Parts of the floor opened and walls were suddenly built, splitting the group of boys into four.

Natomi's voice sounded through speakers. "This is your task; find the opening and escape with your partner. This is E Group's map so they know it like the back of their hand. The only new variable is you. They don't know your tactics or powers so use that to your advantage. E Group will treat you as an enemy. Do what you have to, to make it out preferably uninjured. Some of them have the gene and some do not. Their weapons are the real thing only their firearms shoot beanbags and rubber bullets. If you get hit you'll be escorted out and wait for the others to finish. You'll be running this until everyone makes it out by their own accord. Good luck."

Her _good luck_ was almost sickening with how sweet it sounded. Everyone took a look at the person they were with; Oishi was pared with Atobe and Kaidou, Kikumaru with Momo, Ryoga with Oshitari, and Echizen was with Choutarou. No one knew what they were in for but they certainly knew it was going to be hell.

* * *

"DORIA. THIS IS NOTHING. I WILL BEAT EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU." Kawamura's yelling seemed to be the only thing that was heard throughout the field.

The non-gene group had been led outside and basically thrusts into training with one simple objective: get from point A to point B without getting hit by a blast of ice or water and if you were you had to start back at the beginning. The battleground was the size of about half a football field with posts and boards scattered in between, as were the people hiding behind said boards.

"Masa-san said to get from A to B without getting hit but-" Gakuto sweat dropped. "Isn't this a bit much? They outnumber us like three to one."

Fuji smirked as he ducked behind a board near Gakuto. "That's the fun of it isn't it? It's a possibility for an actual battle."

"But not even letting us have weapons? I always have my gun and knives on me. Besides aren't we supposed to treat this as them having live ammo that can kill us? What's the point of that then?" The _that_ Gakuto was talking about was Kawamura running straight down the field, literally punching things that came into his line of sight. "Isn't that the opposite of what needs to be done?"

Inui ducked behind Fuji's board. "Technically he's not getting hit but doing the hitting."

"His hands should be broken beyond recovery!" Hiroshi yelled from in front of them. "Those ice balls hit hard." He rubbed his side from where he'd been hit.

"He'll be sore later at least." Fuji jolted to a board a few feet away.

"At least he won't feel it until later." Shishido walked annoyingly passed them back to the start of the field holding his back. "I mean come one! How is it that we get hit and yet he and _Kabaji_ only have a few yards left? Kabaji's a freaking giant for Pete's sake!"

True to how big Kabaji was, he barely fit behind some of the boards and needed to duck his head most of the time. No one really even saw Tezuka make his way there but just about half the people assaulting them were trained in to where he was hiding. There was also about three of four people at the starting point occasionally drenching Jirou. He started off decently, getting a little bit more than half way on his first go but seemed to fall asleep behind the board.

There was a shout from Kawamura which was different from his regular yelling that made everyone peek out from where they were; he was completely drenched from head to toe with several ice balls at his feet.

"That was a good effort Taka-san but I doubt even your fists would be able to punch bullets out of the way." Masa laughed. "Back to the start and do it properly this time."

Kawamura walked forlornly back to the start, taking his gloves off as he went. Small nicks laced his knuckles, not even starting to bleed yet. "Aah, Oishi's going to be mad at me."

* * *

It was a little before three when everyone was given a break to have lunch and rest for a bit. Both groups met in the canteen and were equally surprised at the other's state; Group A covered in scrapes and welts and Group B waterlogged and bruises becoming visible.

"You guys look like you've been through hell." Fuji said with a smile as he dried his hair.

"Speak for yourself." Momo said as he carefully laid his head on the table. "The only time I ever thought training was this tough was when I was first recruited."

"What was your training?" Kikumaru asked, wanting to know why everyone was wet.

"Horrible. It was horrible." Gakuto complained. "I won't be able to get my hair back to normal for a long time."

"We had to make it from one point to another without getting pelted with water and ice." Tezuka explained.

"Ice sounds nice." Ryoga said absentmindedly.

"What's up with him?" Shishido asked. "He seems a bit out of it."

"Took a beanbag to the back of the head." Kaidou said. "He's been like that for the last hour. Oishi-san practically drugged him."

Several eyebrows rose.

"I didn't drug him." Oishi said defensively. "Natomi-san told me I should try and use my gene offensively and it kind of put him into- this."

"No one will judge you if you say you made if high for his own safety Oishi-san." Echizen mumbled. His head was tucked in one arm on the table while his injured was stretched out in front.

"Why don't you let him do that for you Ochibi?" Kikumaru said. "They shot you at pretty close range in your injured arm. I'm sure that hurt wat more than what your brother experienced."

"It was bleeding pretty badly when you got brought out." Oshitari said. "It practically looked like an actual bullet wound."

"How close was he shot from?" Fuji asked.

"Table length at most." Choutarou said as he pointed from one end to the other, a single table being about fifteen or sixteen feet.

"I had to take medication this morning anyways so what good is it to drug me up even more? The pain is already gone so it doesn't matter." Echizen huffed out.

Atobe pinched him lightly which made him flinch his arm away. "Sure it is brat. Don't try to act tough."

"Pinching someone's _burned_ arm is going to hurt no matter what you stupid ape."

"Ore-sama is _not_ an ape."

"Did anyone from your group pass or whatever?" Oshitari asked the other side of the table, completely tuning out the arguing by him.

"Tezuka and Kabaji got close but were annihilated in the last stretch." Shishido answered. "Jirou actually got pretty close too but after a while he got bored and fell asleep. What about you guys? Sounds like you had it rougher than we did."

"Kaidou, Oishi, and Atobe made it out easily on the first go." Kikumaru pouted. "With Oishi's offensive use and Atobe's ability to harmonize, all they had to do was walk past their opponents."

"Yeah, Mamoshi didn't even have to lift a finger." Momo joked. "Although he did have scouts running around alerting everyone to where our opponents were the whole time."

"What actually happened with you all though? We were basically playing dodgeball and you had people shooting at you in what sounds like a maze." Kawamura said.

"We were working on silent distractions in an unknown area." Kaidou answered.

"Basically we had to make it from point A to point B without being seen or injured but that seemed to be easier said than done for most of us." Choutarou added. "Once hit we had to sit out and wait for the others to be done and that's all we did for hours. Natomi-san barely even let us rest if we were the last ones out."

"The first go seemed simple enough seeing as we were all getting our bearings and getting used to the idea of our partner's power but every time we started again we had a different one and we had to get our bearings again." Oshitari said.

"At least that part of it is over." Inui said. "You'll be moving on to something different after lunch right?"

"Hardly." Echizen answered, finally stopping his spat with Atobe. "Natomi-san said we'd keep doing it until everyone got out without being seen. She even changed it so if we get shot but we can still move then that's fine because we were having a hard time with it."

"At least you guys seem like you're doing actual training. We just seemed to be playing games. Masa-san said that when were finished we're going to work with paintball guns. Paintball guns! I can't believe he actually calls playing around training." Hiroshi complained.

"At least you get to work with weapons."

The rest of their lunch and break was filled with complaints and arguing. Everything was different from what they were used to. They were told they would be training according to how their assault would plan out but it seemed a bit, for lack of a better word, stupid to separate people if they have the gene or not. Sure, it was so everyone can better hone their skills but no one knew what the Chargarde HQ was like so it would've been better if everyone fought together.

Especially seeing as it was two different groups that had met for the first time and had been thrust at each other and expected to cooperate. That wasn't as much as a problem though as only really knowing half of the squad on a more personal level.

"All right!" Masa strode into the canteen with a group of about thirty soldiers and a box. He dumped it and worn-looking vests tumbled out. "Put these on and get ready. You have two minutes." The group of men behind him all smirked and cocked the weapons they were holding. "Your task is simple; find a weapon and take out my men before they take out you. Three hits and you're done."

"I have a right to assume you mean the paintball guns and not real firearms right?" Tezuka said as he put a vest on. "Where are we supposed to find them?"

"They're scattered around the base, inside and out. Use your imagination. One minute! If you want a head start you better leave now!"

"Is there a time limit?" Fuji asked as he secured his vest and went towards the door.

"Sundown. We'll meet back here then. Thirty seconds."

"Their scenario seems very bleak." Choutarou said. "At least we get to have a full description of what we're doing."

"Perhaps we should head back to the practice room." Oishi said. "Natomi-san did say to meet when Masa-san started his drills."

Everyone agreed more or less. They all started out of the canteen but when they reached the hall, a wall of ice suddenly went up. Everyone in turn looked at Ryoga- who had recovered in the time of peace- and he had indeed been the cause of it. Before he had time to explain why, there was a voice on the loudspeaker.

"Excellent job Ryoga-san!" Natomi was praising him. "For the one that had been most injured earlier, you sure are alert. I'm sure you're all well aware of Masa's training exercise right? I figured we could hold back on the maze for a bit. You have the same goal as your squad members; take out our men before they take out you. Although you don't get the vests because we all figured you'd be good at defending yourself against mere paint balls. And I suggest if you find a weapon you should hold on to it and give it to your squad members without powers."

Everyone was a bit dumbfounded. They had it in their minds that they were going to be stuck in those mazes again for the rest of the day but this was a- welcomed change of pace.

"This is a good time for you all to learn control, some more than others." Echizen rolled his eyes knowing that comment was meant for him. "Sundown is the limit. Meet back in the canteen when it's finished. Oh and just for the record, more people than you know are involved in this so be warry of who you speak and take refuge with in this base."

The hall was silent. Oshitari and Momo peaked out from behind Ryoga's wall to see it splattered with paint.

"Ryoga-san how did you know that was going to happen? I didn't even hear anyone out here before we came." Kikumaru said.

Ryoga shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it's a side effect of what Oishi-san did but I feel fully rejuvenated and my senses feel heightened."

"Something must have happened because I've never heard you use a word like _rejuvenated_ before." Echizen joked. "Maybe getting hit finally helped that hopeless head of yours."

"Well what should we do; split up and try to reach the others or stay together and just kind of let everything play its course?" Choutarou asked.

"It's probably highly likely that the others haven't been informed about the sudden increase in players, both us and the secret components Natomi-san pointed out to us." Atobe commented. "It would be best if we all caught up with someone from the other group and filled them in on the changes."

"Should we all take sections to go through?" Kaidou asked. "I can keep everyone in contact with one another." The group nodded.

"We only have about three hours until sundown and I'm just going to assume anywhere from fifty to one hundred people to take out. Maybe we should take separate floors. We don't really have a lot of information to go off of." Oishi pointed out.

"I'm going to the roof." Echizen immediately called out. "The air feels static and there are probably people up there anyways."

"All right then, we'll split up and each take a direction on each floor, one person going north on the first floor and one the second and so on. Good luck everyone."

While Echizen headed to the roof, Momo, Atobe, Oishi and Kikumaru went to the second floor and started searching for any signs of their teammates while Ryoga, Kikumaru, Oshitari, and Choutarou stayed on the first floor doing the same. Kaidou had a mouse go to every person with the exception of Echizen, who still had the cat following him around.

The first person to run into quote, unquote _trouble_ was Kikumaru who literally _ran_ into about three people who had Hiroshi pinned down. Apparently the force from the speed he was going was enough to either knock them out or make then delirious enough for the two of them to get away to a somewhat safe zone and gave Kikumaru the chance to explain what was happening.

"Hah? What do you mean there's one hundred people participating in this exercise? Masa-san said it was us against his group."

"Natomi-san sort of ambushed us when we were leaving the canteen and said that we're going to be doing this with you and that there's way more people involved than you think. Kind of like an actual battle with unforeseen circumstances if you ask me."

"All right then." Hiroshi put his hands up in defeat. "I'll play this game; trust no one but your definite allies. Help me find a gun."

Everyone else had similar encounters. At some point everyone heard Masa laughing or shouting orders to people but no one actually saw him which was a bit unnerving. Just hearing a disembodied voice floating around the air couldn't stop anyone from being a little freaked out.

There was yelling going throughout the entire base, most of it being from the actual participants in the exercise but overall it was from bystanders yelling about being hit and to take it outside and out of the workspace. Not that it was the first time training like that ever happened, it was becoming a regular thing with most new recruits but that didn't make the clean up any easier. Basically when they would finish the base would look like a child's coloring book or an abstract piece of art. The only place that was completely off limits was the med center and labs that accompanied it. That didn't stop being from tracking in paint though.

By the time Echizen got to the roof, the static was much more prominent. The storm he was subconsciously tracking was tremendously closer and it must have been a much greater one because normally the air was only like that when it was a few hours away. Either that or there was so much electricity pulsating through the building he wasn't used to and he could be reacting in a completely different way.

It made him think what other things he could detect, maybe through his fire aspect; natural gasses or oil or something that could be used as a fuel. There's been nothing since he _remembered_ about being able to control flames though and he's been able to detect faulty electrical work and dead sockets since he could walk. It was probably due to the fact that his fire was more or less a secondary power and he hasn't really had time to work and refine it. That would be a thing to look forward to after everything was over.

There was a group of five on the roof that must have gotten there just before he did because they were still taking off their equipment and trying to light cigarettes. They paid him hardly a second glance as he went to a spot and lay down on it. No sooner had he closed his eyes did he feel shadows looming over him.

"Hey kid you got a light? You look a little young but we won't judge. Something's got to help with stress."

Echizen closed his eyes. "Do you want regular or flashy?" If these people were in on the whole exercise he would give them the time of their lives.

"Is there a difference?"

"Kid you got a light or not?"

He smirked and one of the cigarettes lit normally but the other four not so much. A small ball of lightning materialized in front of the rest and lit them. His smirk turned into a grin, he was doing well with controlling himself. "Well I don't think there's much of a difference."

"Hey you're that kid that has two genes! I was hoping I'd get to talk to you."

"I would've preferred a regular light."

"Aren't you supposed to be doing a training exercise with Masa-sama and Natomi-sama? What are you doing up here?"

"Biding my time until I feel like participating. I'm still not used to the whole _army life_ and don't have as much stamina as everyone- mainly because I'm youngest- and I think your captains might have forgotten to take that into consideration. Plus my arm is still sore from the spar I had with that red headed kid." He held up his arm for emphasis. "I know this is important and basically all for my sake but I really can't take it anymore. Being up here helps me relax."

"Don't worry about it kid, we'll let you be. We won't be up here long anyways."

Echizen nodded as the five of them went back to where their things where and inwardly smiled at himself. Maybe if the world wasn't in complete chaos he could've been an actor. He had at least the stamina of a soldier, purely because he had two genes and because of all the literal running he had to do from Chargarde soldiers in the past.

He suspected the group that was on the roof with him were staged up there for the training and had no doubts they would attack him at some point before they left. That's why he distracted them with his powers. While the five of them were aweing over him, he sent a small ball of lightning towards their packs. Seeing as they were using paintballs, the heat from the lightning would surely melt the ammo in their guns and any extra they had. It would've been easier to use fire but he didn't want to take the chance of accidently burning their things or if they had live ammo and setting it off.

After about a minute of listening to them rummaging around in their things and annoyed sighs, he knew he did well. About ten minutes after that they headed back into the building.

"Hey." Echizen called, making them turn towards him. "You shouldn't let your guard down just because I'm a _kid_."

When it was finally sundown, everyone met back in the canteen as instructed. No one was free from splotches of paint, the surrounding wasn't either.

Momo, Jirou, and Fuji were practically walking paintings after the three of them were chased into a lower level rec room that was seemingly surrounded by incredibly thick metal and concrete because no matter how hard he tried, Momo couldn't get any plants or dirt to obey him.

Oishi, Kaidou, and Shishido weren't much better except they had more so what looked like stab wounds because apparently the opposing team was equipped with paintbrushes that acted like knives.

Atobe and Kikumaru were by far the cleanest out of everyone because as soon as Atobe was reunited with Kabaji, as far as he was concerned he had a shield so he could properly make a spell happen but in the chaos it still wasn't right and he ended up affecting Kikumaru as well and that threw off his speed, making him trip over his own feet and get shot in the process. Everyone else was covered in vibrant rainbow colors, picking dried paint off their skin and out of their hair.

The opposing team was also very colorful but most people only had one or two splotches because once they were hit in a vital spot, head, neck, heart, inner thigh etc., they were considered dead and went to sit in the canteen while the others that had more paint, not hit in vital spots, continued on. That put an unsaid question in the air as to why Momo, Jirou, and Fuji were completely covered.

"HA. YOU ALL LOOK LIKE MY DAUGHTER'S COLORING BOOK." Masa whole heartedly laughed.

"You all did well for your first time." Natomi said. "Normally we'd have more than half of the participating group look like Momoshiro-kun. You were chased into the rec room weren't you?"

"They dropped gallons on us." Fuji smiled though was clearly unhappy.

"It wouldn't have happened if Jirou-san hadn't knocked out as we entered the room." Momo complained. "See a cold, dark place and BAM! Out like a light."

Natomi smiled and turned to Echizen. "I half expected you to sit this out on the roof."

"Oh he was up there all right." One of the soldiers from the roof said. "Melted all the spare paint balls we had into a giant glob _and_ melted the ones in our guns."

"Us too."

"Yeah." A few more people held up their guns in annoyance. "It's going to take forever to clean these."

"Fine, fine, you'll clean your guns while everyone else cleans the base." The room was blasted with groans as Masa spoke. "Don't give me that. You know this is routine. Tomorrow at dawn, everyone that participated will start cleaning up the mess. We will be running this drill until no one of these soldiers has one splotch of paint of them."

"If we're just going to run it again then what's the point of cleaning up?" Ryoga asked.

"Cleaning helps build muscle and staminart tonight it while your ke it while your aseglob ANDomocontinued on. that wasnt pposing team was equiped d to cooperate." Natomi pointed out. "You'll also be quizzed of information you've learned the past few days and general knowledge of everything that is and will go on in the next few weeks."

"All right everyone go get yourselves cleaned up and rested. You've got a lot of work ahead of you."

* * *

 **Okay so that seems like a good place to stop.**

 **I know, I lied about them going on their assault but a lot of things happened this month so I couldn't really concentrate on the story. I swear next chapter they will begin. Also there's probably only two chapters left unless something happens again.**

 **Please forgive spelling and grammar and bad puns and angst and incorrect terminology and corniness and stupidness and oh my god I'm sorry.**

 **Hope ya liked it. See ya later!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Aaaaaah not gonna lie I started this chapter super late for no reason so it's probably gonna be late coming out. Oops. Also because I'm a horrible person, I'm just gonna make this chapter super long and probably the last. I dunno, we'll see how I feel about it.**

 **Also also you might have notice that I've stopped using spells. That's mainly because I'm too lazy to look up Latin words. You can use your imagination.**

 **Here's chapter 18. Enjoy!**

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It was hard to believe that what everyone was doing was training. For three days, practically the whole base was involved in a giant paintball fight.

After the first day cleanup, which took up the morning and somewhat went to the afternoon, the main participants were brought into a room to review footage of when they had been hit and what they could've done to prevent or avoid it completely. That whole ordeal went on to just before dinner was being served.

They all thought that was the end of the day and they could relax until starting again the next day because Masa didn't tell them anything except to go eat. Half the group went to shower while the others went over plans in the Seigaku room, mainly because it was a bit bigger, much to Atobe's displeasure.

Unfortunately for them, it couldn't have been that simple.

Both groups were attacked and the base was once again filled will yelling, mainly from the shower group which had been running around in nothing but towels for the good part of two hours before they were able to make it safely to their rooms in order to change.

The second day they were attacked during lunch, or at least there was an attempt. Echizen was sleep deprived and hungry and not in the mood for his meal to be interrupted. As soon as he noticed a gun, the tossed a fireball and melted the front of the barrel and told however it was to get lost. Inui made a note that Echizen seemed more perceptive when tired.

Training was like that for three days; being attacked for hours on end, stop for a meal, think they're safe only to be attacked again. They only knew they were definitely safe when Masa or Natomi told them they were allowed so many hours for sleep. The only reason it stopped was because everyone was thoroughly done with it. Before they were all able to sleep, they came up with a plan that would for sure (hopefully) stop the hell they were going through.

It started with Echizen overloading the circuits strictly _inside_ the building, with a few exceptions, causing the generators to kick in, which left the base in an eerie yellow lighting for a about an hour while Ryoga went around and froze the ends of the cords, disconnecting them from the base first; no power meaning no security cameras, decently working radios or lights. Lights that were on completely separate circuits were left to Choutarou to deal with and Momo had used seeds to block out the light from the windows. The base was in complete darkness. The only places that were spared were the med lab, which was off limits anyways, and the kitchen.

The base was in absolute chaos because everyone thought it was a Chargarde attack but when the group of boys was nowhere to be found, Ryuzaki, Natomi, Masa, as well as some of the other commanders realized it was their doing and- though it let them breathe easy seeing as it wasn't an actual attack on the base- they were not any less angry with them for pulling something like that and were a bit concerned that a group of young adults and a teenager would be able to take down their power system so easily.

Masa and Natomi split their soldiers into twenty groups of ten equaling two hundred soldiers, ten for every one boy plus some extra, that were ordered to look for and capture their targets, bringing them to the canteen so they could explain themselves.

The whole thing took roughly six hours for everyone to be brought back but no one said a word until everyone was there and even then, through the nameless commanders' yelling, no one spoke. It wasn't until Ryuzaki told them to cut the crap that something unexpected happened.

One by one the boys were surrounded in a green glow then faded from existence, all except Echizen who sat with his hands behind his head and a smirk on his face.

" _Mada mada dane."_

He, along with Ryuzaki, Masa, and Natomi were surrounded in ice. When a minute passed the ice was gone and everyone else in the room was lying on the floor in a daze. The doors to the canteen opened and the rest of the group was standing there.

"We win." Echizen said. "We managed to take everyone out without any of us getting shot in the process."

Masa let out a huge laugh. He was ecstatic with how everything played out. He said they would take on a different task tomorrow and they had the rest of the day to themselves, no interruptions, as long as they fixed the base back to how it should've been. After another hour the base was back to normal.

It was currently the evening of the third day. Kaidou was dead to the world because he was going full power the entire day; creating eighteen personified holograms was _not_ an easy thing to do. Atobe and Oishi were pretty out of it as well with the amount of energy it took to convince roughly two hundred fifty people there was no reason to panic with the amount of stress everyone had felt. Everyone else was just tired and sore from all the work and training they had been put through.

They didn't know what was in store for them now; perhaps back to the first exercise they were supposed to complete or something a bit easier, per say. Either way, no one paid much attention when Echizen disappeared from the room.

He earned looks from basically everyone he passed; not quite angry but definitely not happy, some even looked confused. He ignored everyone and went once again to the roof. A gust of cold air greeted him. Patches of blue could hardly be seen against the dark gray of the clouds that had begun to cover the sky. The oncoming storm seemed like it would be the worst he had seen in a long while.

"There he is! There he is!" A familiar voice broke him from his thoughts. "It has been a long while! But don't fret, O Savior, the best to come is still to come yet!"

Echizen turned to see the old man he had met in the first town they stopped at. "How did you even get in here?"

"The Savior asked a question at last! You would not believe it, that someone as I is oh so fast."

He rolled his eyes and sighed. Everything with the old man seemed like a riddle that he didn't want to think about. "What do you want?"

The old man was at his side in an instant. "Savior is troubled about events yet to come, three enter the battle but the winner will be one. When the time comes, the field will sound like the beating of drums, then and only then will it be right to finally stop the screams that echo through the night." This tone dropped. "But it is not as easy as it seems, for the enemy may be able to see through the schemes and if Savior has a thought of the situation hopeless and dire then everything he sees and loves will be lost to fire and once he sees how many have fell, he will truly understand the definition of hell."

His words made Echizen sick. It was easy enough to understand what he meant by three factors battling and one being the ultimate winner but drums? Chargarde knowing the plans? Hopeless situations that seem to end in death and hell? Wasn't it a thing where someone is supposed to wish you good luck and safe returns if you go out literally anywhere? "Why are you telling me something like this?"

"There is fear to be had from the fight but Savior should rest on this cold, breezy night. There is still much hope for Savior and his friends because _The Seer_ knows the whole story, beginning to the end."

Now he was completely lost. "What are you talking about? _Who_ or _what_ is The Seer?"

The old man smiled, completely ignoring his question. "Goodnight O Savior rid yourself of such dark thoughts and sleep peacefully through the night so when the time comes you will know the wrong from the right."

As soon as he blinked, the old man was gone. He had gone to the roof to be alone and clear his head of things but it turned out to be the complete opposite. Not only would he most likely not be able to sleep but now he had new information to think about, if you could even call the old man's bad rhymes information.

The three participants he was talking about were no doubt Cardinal, Chargarde, and the independent group unless there was a completely different group that no one knew about or at least didn't care to mention.

That was really the only thing he could figure out. Everything else was becoming a giant blur. The training must have finally caught up with him; he was ready to pass out. Too bad Kaidou's cat wasn't with him to have recorded the whole thing. It disappeared when Kaidou conjured the lookalikes and probably wouldn't return until tomorrow.

He returned to the room, everyone had more or less passed out; a mix of both Hyoutei and Seigaku. It was rather easy for him to get to sleep even with what the old man had told him.

The next morning when he awoke, it wasn't to the normal alarm or someone shouting but of his own accord. He looked around to see there were still several people sleeping but for the most part, the room looked rather bare from the previous night. He also noted the time and was confused to see it was late into the morning. He carefully and quietly made his way from the room and towards the canteen.

He found Kikumaru and Choutarou eating a late breakfast. They informed him that Natomi and Masa said this was considered their 'break' day until just around dust. After that they would all head to one of the meeting rooms for _schooling_ as Masa put it.

Echizen had no trouble with that. He grabbed a bit of food and ventured back towards the roof in hopes of seeing the old man again but he figured it wouldn't happen because he just didn't seem to have that characteristic nature, to actually appear when he was coherent and in need of information. The only thing that did appear was Kaidou's cat.

He stayed up there for a few hours testing out tactics he thought might be useful in a pinch in the upcoming battle, mainly trying to balance the output of both fire and electricity at the same given time. It was easy when it was a small amount of power but when measuring with amounts needed to injure or even kill someone it was still difficult to control. It didn't even make sense to him because both genes were of elements which meant it shouldn't be as difficult as it was.

He still partly blamed Ryoga for keeping him in the dark about it though and in turn not letting him practice both. In truth it was really only the fire gene that was difficult. He could zap the power from a building with no problem and control lightning with a swish of his fingers but lighting a fire or trying to control a huge blaze was almost still completely foreign to him.

When it was just about dusk he made his way back inside. He met Shishido, or more so just followed him to the meeting room. In truth it looks like a classroom from a college. He took a seat in the top back row and waited for everyone else to file in. After a few minutes everyone filed in and scattered themselves in the seats, along with some of the regular soldiers for a reason Echizen didn't know nor cared to find out.

Natomi and Masa were at the front of the room and basically told everyone that it was a refresher course about the basics of magic and the genes they possessed; fire has the upper hand against earth and ice sometimes but is very poor against water, water is a conduit for electricity, those born with an element gene- depending on the situation and the type of person- are usually weaker than those born with mental genes, and those who were born with the rare arcane gene generally rule over everyone else but that is also restricted to the person and situation. No one really asked many questions. They just sat for a few hours and listened to the lecture.

Echizen thought of bringing up the old man but he didn't want to raise some sort of suspicion. Plus he figured they would all be to blame seeing as they basically put the whole base's security system offline for a bit and that's why there was an old man on the roof… somehow. After about another hour or so, Natomi said everything was basically covered and tomorrow they would return to physical training and sent everyone off to their rooms to get some sleep.

The main thing that struck a chord with him was being told about how if someone was born with an M-Gene, it was almost like a curse. The genetic makeup that they were born with was physically different from everyone born without. In some places it was shunned and the carrier was thought to be some sort of monster and in some cases, they were forced to have the gene removed but after many attempts and _successes_ , it was found out that if the gene is removed from the host, the host will die.

The thought of that terrified Echizen. He couldn't think about what life would be like if he didn't have his genes. What was even more horrible was that it was that exact thing that was currently going on inside the Chargarde base. People born with the gene were being picked off the streets and experimented on; taking genes out and even putting different ones in which he was sure ended in death both ways.

That reminded him why he was there in the first place, to be the savior of all those people because he was born with a genetic mutation. He still didn't believe the whole prophecy thing that was going on but he would help in any way that he could.

The two groups had separated and gone to their own rooms. Everyone was more or less chatting with each other, mainly about returning to training in the morning though he got an underlining feeling that they were all uncomfortable with the experimentation subject. He made no notion to even bring it up and would be happy if no one talked about it at all.

It wasn't long before everyone fell asleep. The night seemed to pass in a second and once again everyone was awake and off to train. It was more of the simple things like running through an obstacle course with heavy gear and weights and trust building exercises. They were put in simulations and told to just go at it and see if they could come up with a plan that would work to get everyone out unharmed. It worked out for the most part though no one was scratch free.

That was the schedule for the remaining days they were there. It was changed slightly every day, like more obstacles or people to go up against but everything was relatively the same. On the final day before leaving to meet with Rikkaidai, there was a feast to commemorate them for everything they've been fighting for up to that point in time. Most of the soldiers were drinking and singing, just having a good time with everyone before temporarily saying goodbye. Ryoga and Echizen were hanging with Nanako, catching up on a lot of memories.

When the night died down and everyone had gone to their rooms, Echizen couldn't help but wonder if the old man was going to show up and give him some sort of advice because that's what he seemed to do before something would happen. He still didn't understand what he meant the last time he appeared though so with his luck, he would probably be stuck somewhere before he would be seen again.

The night went by slowly to nobody's complaints. They were all up just past dawn and having their equipment loaded into a truck.

"I've enjoyed this time we've spent together, no matter how brief it might have been. You're all part of a very promising Special Forces group and I look forward to seeing _all_ of you gentlemen returning at some point, _alive_ and well." Natomi saluted both of the groups as they stood outside of the trucks while Masa stood there, also saluting but looking like he was trying to hold back tears. "Best of luck to you all. May the road to your next destination be quick and undisturbed."

"Thank you Natomi-san, Masa-san!"

Everyone piled in the back of the truck and gave the base one last goodbye before. It wasn't long after they started their drive that Atobe started to complain about the uncomfortable arrangement; eighteen boys stuffed into the back of a truck and headed straight for the camp where they would meet up with the Rikkaidai branch and begin the assault. Momo said he was more than welcome to lie across the floor, which only lead to an argument.

"Ryoga." Echizen started, stretching his finger.

"What's up Chibisuke? Your arm still bugging you?" Ryoga answered though the argument that was going on with half the vehicle.

"The- _prophecy_ and how it talks about me being the savior, does it say anything else? Like maybe another person?"

Ryoga raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about? Getting cold feet about everything?"

Echizen rolled his eyes. "Forget it."

"There is a mention once of _A Seer_." Oshitari piped in. "The original prophecy went something like _'A day will come with a battle and only the Savior, taught by the Seer, will be able to end everything'_ but somewhere along the lines in history, people sort of forgot about the Seer and it turned into the _A Savior will save the world_."

"Why do you know about it if it was supposedly forgotten? And what is a _Seer_ anyways?"

"I helped out a lot in our bases archives and visited the libraries in all the cities we've been to and when I was a child. The Seer is said to be the one person who can look into the future and even alternate timelines. He's supposed to work with the Savior to decide the best outcome on the final battle with whatever, for lack of a better word, options they choose. I can say the prophecy has probably changed anyways. You haven't been visited by any Seer right?" Oshitari saw Echizen's face scrunch. "Are you saying you _have?"_

"I've- _met_ with an old man on three separate occasions and every time he tells me things about the future. I just thought he was a crazy old man but-"

"Wait, wait, hold on a second, _three_ separate occasions? You've only announced it once!" Ryoga almost yelled. The truck quieted down as everyone started listening in.

"The first time in the ruins, a second in the Rikkaidai base, and the last about three days ago on the roof."

"You didn't think to tell anyone about them?" Choutarou asked.

"What was I supposed to do? The first time, yeah, everyone would believe finding an old man living in the ruins of an old city and I thought you all saw him the second time in the base. He was standing right in front of me as I lost it."

"I knew I saw someone standing there!" Momo cut in.

"And three days ago on the roof? How did he get passed security? How was it that he was able to get in completely undetected? How did he even know we were there? Did you want me to say that he completely nullified my powers in the Rikkaidai base or he can see into the future and teleport? People barely believe _I'm_ a real person. Who would believe that?"

They all knew he had a point.

"It still would've been better if you told us." Ryoga sighed.

"Well now you know. Not like it makes a difference when I told you."

"Did he at least give you any useful information?"

Echizen shook his head. Maybe it would've been better just to keep his mouth shut about everything.

The conversation was dropped and everyone went silent. It wasn't long before Shishido brought up a discussion to bring the unnerving silence to an end, which everyone seemed to enjoy. It was a few hours until they were in range of the camp. Momo practically jumped out of the moving truck when the smell of meat hit his nose. Oishi had to explain how it would be counterproductive for him to jump out and run to the camp instead of sitting for the remaining few minutes it took to actually drive to it.

"Tezuka, Atobe, I'm glad you and your convoy could make it here in one piece." Yukimura greeted them with open arms as the trucks pulled to a stop and they all piled out. "I hope you didn't run into any trouble on your way here."

"No. We had a comfortable ride." Tezuka answered.

"Speak for yourself." Atobe scoffed. "Four hours without a stop and being in cramped quarters with seventeen other people is _not_ what Ore-sama would call comfortable."

Sanada stopped himself from rolling his eyes. "We've prepared tents for everyone to share. We have today to relax and prepare for everything. Our schedule has been sped up due to- unforeseen forces that appear to be in our favor."

"What are you talking about?"

"We've had a spy stationed at the base for some time now and they've reported seeing teams of a different cooperation causing trouble at the base. Right now, it seems, would be the base time to attack; while they're preoccupied with someone who's not us."

"That could be the cooperation that snuck an agent into Cardinal's headquarters to get to Echizen." Fuji pointed out.

Yukimura smirked. "Looks like we have much to discuss in the short amount of time we have. You can all go find a tent you wish to be in. You'll be sharing with three other people."

"Dibs!" Momo shouted as he grabbed his things went jogged towards a tent. Everyone more or less did the same thing but without yelling for it first.

When everyone was settled into their tents, the opted to look around a bit, mainly saying hello to the other members of the Rikkaidai Special Forces. Echizen wasn't too interested in any of it though. It was most likely his nerves finally getting the better of him. He did walk through and around the camp though, just to get a feel for it even though he would only be staying there for one day at most.

The camp wasn't anything to brag about but it was something. It reminded him about camping with his family so long about, even if the trees were more like the kinds seem in parks but the atmosphere was there. Today was the last day before the assault but no one seemed all that worried. The nervousness and stress was rancid but despite that, people were laughing and having a good time with each other.

It was almost sad how happy everyone looked and Echizen realized it was because this day might be the last one they have. Everyone in the camp was going to war in the morning but they were acting like it was a party. He retreated into the tent he shared with Ryoga, Kikumaru, and Inui and basically tuned them out, wishing for silence.

The sound of a flute filled the tent however and he recognized the tune. He looked up at the three other people to see if they had heard but they just kept on talking like nothing was wrong. Then came the feeling of blurriness and before he knew it, he had walked from the tent. He walked through the camp, not paying attention to anyone and no one really paying him attention either. Before he got to the trees the force that was pulling him stopped but that didn't stop him from seeing what caused it in the first place.

He had crossed through the first line of trees and went a bit farther then saw Dio slumped on one of the trees with his flute lying next to him. He looked exhausted which would probably explain why Echizen was no longer being controlled by his flute and more so walking towards him willingly.

"So you come when the enemy calls." Dio smirked. "Some savior you are, walking into the enemy's hands. I could kill you where you stand."

"You can't even stand yourself, let alone try to kill me with how you look right now." Echizen went and crouched in front of him. He felt no ill will coming from the boy. "Okay then, what do you want? Why do you look like you were dragged behind a truck?"

Dio let his head rest on the tree. "There were difficulties when we arrived back at base since we first saw you. We were ordered to take you against your will or convince you to come back with us but we thought to be more civil and let you decide on your own. Kren didn't like that and we were put in collars and experimented on. Noriko- sacrificed herself to let me escape and I've been running around trying to stay under the radar and find you."

"I assume Kren is a commander?"

"Kren is the medical officer but mainly runs the whole operation of trying to capture you ever since he found out you were born with two genes. I don't know how he found out but he practically took control of all the missions that had anything to do with you. You're special and he took great care in choosing who to send after you."

"If he is a medical officer then why is he giving orders? Should he be tending to wounded people or something?"

Dio laughed. "Seeing Kren actually treat someone like a doctor should? He dissects them; using them and their body parts for experiments, trying to form a being that can successfully control more genes than one. That's why he wants you so bad and has sent people after you."

"So now you've come to me in hopes of stopping him. What's with the change of heart?" Echizen was sitting in front of him. He almost regretted asking the question because he already knew the answer.

He gestured to his sad form. "All this time when we were bring people back to base, I never pieced it together that we were seen as the bad guys and I guess this is my punishment for all the people I've sent to Kren to die. Noriko was my sister in every way but blood. I want that bastard dead for what he did to her." He pulled a flash drive from his pocket. "This is the schematic for the entire base, above and below ground, plus some extra for your top commander or whoever's in charge."

"Why couldn't you two just leave?"

"Have you seen the state of the world right now? We would've died long ago if a Chargarde squad hadn't picked us up. Although looking back that seems preferable. Look that's all I have for you. Go give that to your commander or whatever. Let me be at peace."

Echizen took the flash drive and shoved it in his pocket. "He took your gene didn't he?"

"Leave already."

Echizen turned and walked back towards the camp. Dio would be dead next time he saw him. That was the one thing that was praying on his mind since sitting in that room and relearning the basics of the M-Gene; if somehow the user's gene is taken from them they die. He didn't understand neuroscience or how to get DNA or physically remove a gene from someone but it still scared him.

The fact that Dio actually found them was a problem too; what if he didn't do such a good job at hiding as he thought and Chargarde agents were close to the camp? No matter how he brought it up it would spell out trouble. The only thing to do was go back to camp and tell everyone. He didn't even know if the flash drive would be useful, there might not have even been a computer anywhere.

He made his way back to the camp. Again no one payed much attention as he entered the boundaries. He saw most of all the Special Forces people settled around a few fire pits and expected his tent to be empty so he would at least have a little while to think about what to tell everyone but when he opened the flap he was met with Inui.

"Echizen. Did you explore the area a bit?"

Echizen sometimes thought Inui had a gene that could hone in on what a person was feeling. "Yeah, a bit."

Inui's glasses gleamed. "Find anything interesting?"

"Actually-"

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 **Ooooooooookay so this isn't the last chapter. I feel I owe all you guys for being patient with me on this and I appreciate it very much that you're all still here. Next chapter will most likely be the last. Got the beginning and ending practically done so alls I gots to do is write the super totally awesome not-gonna-suck-at-all battle scene and release it when it's done.**

 **I know this chapter is anticlimactic but I didn't want to make you guys wait another month for me to finish.**

 **Please forgive spelling and grammar and corniness and bad puns and angst and lateness oh my god late I'm sorry.**

 **Hope you enjoyed and will stay tuned for the next one!**

 **See ya later!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay. No more excuse on why I haven't been writing. This is the last chapter and I hope I finish it fairly quickly because I didn't realize I left everyone with a cliffhanger in the last chapter. Oops.**

 **It's finally come to an end. I'm proud with how it turned out. One of the longer ones.**

 **Here's the final chapter. Enjoy!**

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"Do you really expect us to believe he had no ill purposes in giving you that?" Atobe yelled gesturing towards the flash drive in Yukimura's possession. "There's probably some sort of tracking chip in it or- or a virus that will take down the whole mainframe of Cardinal's network if it actually connected to a computer."

Echizen rolled his eyes. He was currently being reprimanded by Atobe, Yukimura, and Tezuka insides the communication tent. "He was _dying_ you stupid ape. If this was some elaborate plan, don't you think he would want to see it out to the end? Do you want to ask him yourself because I can gladly lead you to the spot he's at."

"The point is he was still a Chargarde agent. You shouldn't have gone by yourself." Tezuka said.

"That's not something I can really decide when he can control people to do his bidding. Plus I didn't see anyone in camp try to stop me when I was wondering away. Maybe you should train your troops to be more wary."

"Echizen-!"

"It's all right Tezuka." Yukimura said in a calm tone. "My men should've stopped him when he was leaving the camp so that fault is on me. Echizen according to your story, he lost his control just before you got to him. That should've given you more than enough time to turn back and get someone to go with you, especially if you felt like something was off."

"I don't need a babysitter."

"Apparently you do otherwise you wouldn't have done something as stupid as this." Atobe commented in a muffled tone.

Echizen took a deep breath. "You're never satisfied are you? Can't stand to have someone else be the center of attention for once in your life."

"Both of you stop." Tezuka ordered. "You're acting like children." Atobe huffed and Echizen rolled his eyes. "Echizen, what you did was stupid and very well could've endangered the lives of everyone here; Atobe, you're the commander of a Cardinal Special Forces unit so start acting like it. Echizen, what made you trust a Chargarde agent enough to take this without a second though?"

Echizen was silent for a few seconds. "He just- he looked so sad and ashamed. He had no idea what was happening when he was bring people in. And that girl wasn't with him and when I saw her the first time, she was all clingy and probably didn't let him have a minute to himself. She died for him, so he could escape and give me that stupid flash drive. But he's probably dead now too and since you don't seem to trust my judgement I guess this was all for nothing. Just destroy it or something."

The three in the room with him were silent. With how adamant Echizen was feeling about that flash drive, it made them, sans Atobe, feel a bit guilty. Echizen was as much their comrade as anyone else in that base and being accused of not trusting him struck a chord.

"We won't destroy it." Yukimura finally said. "If you're that passionate about it, but we don't have a computer here and we've already mapped out their base for the most part so I'm afraid this was all for naught."

"He said there were other things besides the schematics; didn't say what though. I would figure it's something else important though that could help."

"Why not send it back to headquarters and have them analyze it? Can't that one with the bandana make a cheetah or something and send it off?" Atobe suggested. Echizen raised his brow seeing that was a good idea.

"An animal that large would require a great amount of energy and concentration to keep up." Tezuka said. "Everyone needs to be at their top for tomorrow."

"Why not a bird then? They're small and agile and can probably get back faster than any land animal."

"That's as good of a plan as any we have right now." Yukimura said. He handed the flash drive to Tezuka. "We just have to take care of this then it's nothing but tomorrow to worry about. If you two would take care of that." Tezuka and Atobe left the tent. "Echizen-"

"I won't go off on my own anymore until this is over. I promise." Echizen said almost jokingly.

"The main reason we don't want you, or anyone else in the squads for that matter, to go off alone is because of the _what if_ factor. _What if_ it was an ambush; _what if_ you had gotten lost; _what if_ you had injured yourself and couldn't muster the strength to signal for help; _what if_ you disappeared? I'm not going to blame you for it but that's the first thing they teach in training when preparing to go into the field, utilizing the buddy system. I'm sure they taught you something like that in school."

"Yeah I'm sure they would've."

Yukimura sighed. "I know you're tired of hearing the same things over and over but until it sticks, you need to understand that you're the most important person to everyone right now and you need to be more careful with your actions in the future." He smiled. "Now get out of here and have a bit of fun. It's the last bit you'll have for a while."

Echizen got up and left without another word. There was that word again, _future_. It seemed to come around a lot in the past few weeks. It was the only thing people seemed to care about anymore, they had a good right to, with how the world was but everything seemed to be moving too fast for him. Maybe it was his lost childhood finally starting to surface, at least the sad reality of not having one but instead of being on the run like criminals.

He went back to his tent which was, thankfully, empty. He knew that everyone was most likely talking about him right now and it would really be a bother for him if he showed his face. He almost wanted to venture out to find Kaidou and ask if he could create the cat seeing as it hadn't been around the whole day but remembered what Tezuka said about needing to conserve energy. It would also be a bit awkward to run into Tezuka and Atobe while they were instructing Kaidou on what to do with the flash drive.

He could feel the static on the air from the storm. He thought it would've been on them when they had left that morning but that just gave reality to how bad of a storm it was going to be. Maybe it would be on them tomorrow or the next day if they were lucky.

It wasn't long before Kawamura of all people came walking into the tent asking him if he would like to join everyone else around the fire pits, telling stories for past battles or discussing plans for the next day. Echizen politely declined, to which Kawamura acknowledged and left the tent to tell the others no doubt but was back in seconds later.

"KORA ECHIZEN, COME JOIN EVERYONE FOR TEAM BONDING. WE WILL HAVE A GREAT TIME."

Echizen sweat dropped as he saw Kawamura's gloved hands. "No thanks Kawamura-san."

"I WON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER." He suddenly _dove_ at Echizen, to which the latter only escape by a hair. "YOU WILL COME OUT AND ENJOY YOUR COMRADES."

Echizen made a beeline to the tent flap in hopes that Kawamura would calm down once he saw he was outside. It was no surprise that it didn't work. Kawamura came barreling out after him and begun chasing him around the camp.

"Whoever did this, it's not funny!" Echizen shouted as he ran through groups of people.

"Tell that to them." Kaidou thumbed to Momo, Niou, Kirihara, Gakuto, and Kikumaru in particular laughing their guts out, along with a few other people around the camp. Echizen snorted and sent a shock over the ground to the group of Special Forces agents.

"Ow! Echizen!"

"You started this so fix it!"

Within minutes, the group and several others were trying to find a way to make Kawamura stop but he kept breaking through the walls and blockades people kept making. Echizen was getting tired and didn't want to know what would happen if he fell into Kawamura's grasp. Thankfully he was saved by Fuji who merely held his foot out and tripped the powerhouse, enabling him to take the gloves off.

"Ne Inui, didn't you say you had a new juice to try out? I think I found some volunteers to test it." Fuji's smile was sickening as he glanced at the five perpetrators. Inui's glasses instantly gleamed.

All in all, there were now five people swearing to whatever God there might be to save them from the poison they just ingested.

Echizen sat among the soldiers, answering questions they had, trying not to be a smartass about the answers he gave but mainly he just listened to everyone's stories about past battles and their lives, no matter how good or bad they were before they enlisted to fight. It was pretty much half and half for everyone; either _I enlisted right out of school_ or _Chargarde killed my family member_. Needless to say he was slightly jealous of the people that got to attend school seeing as he only went to about first grade before having his memory wiped then jumping around from place to place. He understood everyone that had lost family members all too well though.

The day seemed to be going by slowly. Everyone was off doing something with a group of soldiers or going over plans. Echizen was lying against a tree with three other soldiers from Yukimura's squad. The three of them were casually chatting and trying to start a conversation with Echizen but he kept answering with short answers. He wasn't trying to do it but they just sort of joined him out of the blue and he was trying to experiment with his powers and they were distracting them.

"Come on Echizen-san, you must have some sort of thing you enjoy regularly." One of them said.

"Maybe music or a food." Another added.

 _Peace and quiet for concentration is more like it._ "I never had the chance to listen to music to decide what kind I like and I'm not picky when it comes to food." He kept his eyes focus on the fire pit across the way, trying to make it light.

"You look like you'd enjoy alternative or maybe pop." A soldier said.

"Maybe."

"I don't know, he looks like he's a closet folk music lover."

"No way. He would probably like American classic rock."

Echizen's brow furrowed. They were annoying him to the point of physically radiating heat. He wanted them to be quiet or go away. Suddenly, he was hit in the face with something that suspiciously felt like a snowball. He wiped it from his face and looked for the perpetrator, mainly for Ryoga because he was the only one he knew that would just up and do that for no reason. While searching for him he glanced at the fire pit to see that it, along with the one next to it, had started smoking. He rolled his eyes and smirked. It wasn't a roaring blaze like he had hoped but it was something.

"You need to chill out Chibisuke." Ryoga said, tossing a snowball up and down as he walked to them.

"I can't believe you just said that." Echizen sweat dropped.

"I mean it. Were you planning on catching the tree on fire? It's practically smoldering." Echizen looked behind him to see the tree did have what looked like scorch marks in the shape of his body on it."Can we have a minute, guys?"

The three soldiers quickly left. "I don't want to hear it." Echizen said. "I know what I did was stupid and I'm aware of my importance so I won't do anything stupid tomorrow so you can go back to whatever you were doing before this and leave me be."

Ryoga placed his hand on his brother's head. "Idiot." He sat next to him and leaned on the tree. "I didn't come over here to tell you how stupid you are for doing what you did. I know you're tense and nervous about tomorrow."

Echizen rolled his eyes. The first sentence in itself was contradicting. "Yeah I guess."

"That's it? Chibisuke I just watched you almost burn a hole in a tree. Can't you at least admit when you're scared about something?"

"What do you want me to say?" He threw his arms behind his head. "I'm terrified about tomorrow and how a lot of people will probably die; you or I could die and never see Nanako again. Do you want to hear the depressing thoughts of a sixteen year old before he goes to war?"

"You don't think other's feel like that?" Ryoga's voice was incredibly gentle. "I guarantee everyone else here feels the exact same way you do and that's why they're having a good time, not having a care in the world. They know very well that tomorrow could be their last day and that's why they're celebrating right now."

He felt like an idiot. He didn't once think that celebrating was a sort of coping mechanic. That did seem to prove how nervous he was about the next day though; selfishly only thinking of himself. The three people from earlier were probably trying to calm him down and he basically shunned them.

"Come on. Everyone's trying to see if they can take down Kawamura-san in his burning mode, no weapons or powers. Losers have to take a sip of Inui-san's drink and those that back out have to drink a cup." Ryoga got himself up and offered a hand. "Wanna take your chances?"

"Nope." Echizen took the hand. "There's no way I'm doing anything that has that as a consequence."

The two of them joined everyone else. Kawamura was currently facing off against Kabaji; Niou, Jackal, and several other troubles were currently passed out across the grounds, no doubt a side effect from Inui's drink. The rest of the day was enjoyable. There was no foul mood and no talk about the next day. Echizen was kind of at a loss though, no matter how much fun everyone seemed to be having he couldn't get rid of the thought of dread in the back of him mind. At dinner, Yukimura made an announcement to try to get plenty of sleep seeing at the next day was _going to be exciting and everyone should be at their best_. Everyone cheered nonetheless.

When it was finally time to turn in, Echizen was happy to get away from everyone. Having to put up with that mean people at one time was really draining. He laid face down on his cot, letting out a heavy sigh into his pillow.

"Are you trying to suffocate yourself Echizen?" Inui asked.

"Hardly." Echizen muffed tone sounded. "Why is it so difficult to sleep all the time now?"

"You're probably fatigued from the last few weeks. The both of you still aren't fully accustomed to our routine yet. Ryoga-san, you seem in pretty good health though."

"Ah, I was never much of a heavy sleeper." Ryoga replied. "I blame Chibisuke for waking me up when he had bad dreams when we were kids. He would start crying if I didn't wake up and read him I story."

"I won't hesitate to light you on fire." Echizen threatened.

"Ochibi, if you have nightmares you can always wake me up and talk about it." Kikumaru said. Echizen shoved his face deeper into his pillow.

"Inui-san, not to spoil the mood but do you think we can have a rundown of what to expect to happen tomorrow?" Ryoga asked sheepishly.

"Certainly." Inui went to his back and pulled out some documents. "This is the layout of Chargarde's base. There's the building itself, lower level basements, and lowest level labs where they most likely conduct experiments on unwilling subjects. The three groups that are assembled at this camp will be heading out to meet with the other groups, and then we'll commence our attack. We need to get to the labs and destroy the main computers and their equipment. Right now our best bet is to keep all the heavy action on the front lines while a group attempts to sneak in and get it done as quick and with as few casualties as possible. The task is relatively simple enough but it'll always be proven more difficult to see it out, especially with an army opposing us.

"The others should be waiting for us but depending on the situation, they might have already stated the assault. Echizen, you and a group of others will head to the lab to dismantle everything while everyone else stays above ground. There's no doubt there will obstacles to get past and in those times, we try not to kill if it can be helped. Right now everyone will have two radios, one for the overall of every squad and one for each single squad, for general use, along with Kaidou's scouts and Hiroshi's telepathy- though Hiroshi is more of emergency than anything because it puts a tremendous stress on his mind if he has to keep several people linked at once."

"Are you listening Ochibi? This is important." Kikumaru said. Echizen rolled to face them. "Has it been decided who's going with who?"

"Tezuka and Kawamura decided they're going and Ryoga-san is a definite. Smaller groups would be better for sneaking around but in this situation, a larger group would probably be better strategy wise."

"Wouldn't it be better for a small group if we're trying to be discreet?" Echizen finally asked.

"I agree; if we're heading into an enemy base then I would feel more comfortable knowing that there's less of a chance to be found out." Ryoga said.

"All right. I don't think Tezuka would have any problem with it." Inui flipped a few pages. "The base layout is quite simple so the only problems you should encounter are the soldiers and locked doors." He handed Ryoga an internal map. "Both of you should memorize this before tomorrow."

It all seemed too simple; get in, destroy something, get out. Echizen knew it was too good to be true though. No way was anything going to be as simple as it seemed.

They talked a little while more about what was happening the next day before finally deciding it was time to sleep. Echizen couldn't tell if everyone was actually asleep after about an hour of lying awake. They seemed to be tossing every few minutes. Talking about everything seemed to calm his nerves though, even if just a bit. He sort of knew what to expect and what he was up against. What the old man said was still in the back of his mind, nagging at him that if there was a problem, it would be his fault. There was nothing he could really do about it and that was the most annoying feeling.

* * *

When morning finally came, everything got packed rather quickly and everyone piled into trucks and headed off. It was at least a few hours' drive from where they had been set up to the base which wasn't too bad considering Kikumaru and Momo kept cracking really bad jokes to keep everyone's spirits up, and the fact Atobe and his squad were in a different truck so Echizen didn't have to put up with the whining.

It didn't exactly feel like they were going off to fight a battle. Everyone seemed rather calm overall but that was probably because they were used to fighting, but Fuji had said before that they hadn't ever attempted to take down a base like this one, mainly just camps that had been set up. Echizen himself seemed to be rather indifferent about the whole thing; maybe he subconsciously suppressed the nervousness frim last night and it got replaced with- strength? No, that wasn't it, but the overall feeling to get the job done and get everything over with was definitely there.

As they were nearing the base, whatever calm feeling that was there left when a surge of power struck one of the trucks, overturning it completely. The other trucks screeched to a halt before they could be struck as well and everyone piled out. Yukimura was yelling for everyone to help the people out of the overturned truck and run for cover.

Echizen could feel the raw power surging through the air. It was nothing compared to Kintarou's power though. He threw up a ball of lightning and diverted another strike so everyone could get everything together and move. A few people were injured from the crash but all in all they were well enough to move. They were able to make it to where Shiraishi and his squad were set up. Looking around, they saw Fudomine and Josei set up a fair distance away.

"It's rude to start a party without the guest of honor." Fuji joked as they joined.

"It's always a game changer to crash your own party." Shiraishi smiled back. "We've got pretty much all the focus on us. The Fudomine and Josei squads have done well in flanking. The scouts in the back say there's virtually no one there so if you want to try your brilliant plan, best to do it now before they figure us out."

"Yosha! The real party starts now!" Momo yelled.

The Rikkaidai and Hyoutei squads spread out amongst the other groups. Tezuka, Kawamura, Ryoga, and Echizen headed to the back along with Kaidou's cat. It all seemed too simple. There was _no one_ at the back, hell the door wasn't even locked to get in.

"This feels like a trap." Echizen said, none too pleased.

"We just have to be one step ahead of them." Kawamura said.

They walked through the base, seeing Kaidou's scouts on the cameras chewing through the wires. They were able to get down to the first level basement before anything seemed to happen. They walked down a long corridor, hopefully leading to stairs or an elevator to go down once more. Before they were able to find the end of it, a wall slammed down, separating Echizen from the rest of them. Before he was able to register what happened, Kaidou's cat let out a yowl and he was hit across the back of the head and knocked out.

It was too simple; he hated simple.

* * *

"Echizen's down." Kaidou scowled. "He was able to get to the basement before someone got him. They're probably going to take him down to the lower levels and begin testing. I have no contact."

"Can you get contact?" Fuji more so urged than asked. "Either of you?"

"It'll be hard to find his particular wave length but I'll try." Hiroshi said.

Kaidou nodded. "I have scouts headed in the direction he was in."

* * *

The first thing Echizen was aware of when he came to was the incredibly painful sensation in the back of his head; definitely concussion status. He tried to open his eyes but it was like he was looking directly at the sun with how bright it was. When he tried to cover his face he found his arms were chained above his head and then everything seemed to make sense; he'd been captured. He didn't see any of Kaidou's scouts and he couldn't feel Hiroshi in the back of his mind.

He let out a groan and to his surprise got a response.

"Oh dear, sorry about that. The light always seems to be the worst thing about waking up after being brought down here." There was an audible click. "There you go. That should be better. Go ahead and open your eyes now."

Since the person speaking to him told him to, he wanted to resist but in some hopes that Hiroshi would be able to link with him again, he needed to look around and be able to describe what he saw. He slowly blinked open his eyes and began to look around. Standing in front of him was a man in a lab coat; very short light brown hair, glasses too big for his face, all in all a typical doctor look.

"That's much better isn't it?" The man's tone was so sweet it was sickening. "I'm so glad I could finally meet you Echizen-kun. You're the key to advancing the human genome. My name is Doctor Kren. Don't worry; you're in good, safe hands."

Terrifying. That's how Echizen would describe the man in front of him. To think that this man was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people.

"If I'm in such safe hands, why did you knock me out?" Echizen spat. "And why am I hanging from something?"

"Oh yes, I'm very sorry about having to use force against you. It's just I didn't have my anesthesia with me and I was startled when we ran into each other. And the chains, I'm afraid it's more for my protection than yours. Can't have a repeat of what happened with the last patient." Kren laughed. "I think they're strong enough to even render your abilities useless.

" _Ran into each other_? You came up from behind me." As expected, the chains were nullified.

"We're going to get nowhere if you hold a grudge." His smile was disgusting. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to take a blood sample to start out with."

"Don't touch me." Echizen struggled to see how well the chains would hold. Unfortunately it didn't look like he would be getting out without help.

"You don't really have a choice in the matter Echizen-kun. Do us both a favor and just, relax."

* * *

"Have you found any sign of him yet?" Oishi yelled over the chaos that was happening.

"My scouts keep hitting a barrier of some sort when they try to get to the lower levels." Kaidou answered. "I don't know if it's from a machine or someone but it needs to be taken down. What about you Hiroshi-san?"

Hiroshi's brow furled. "I keep getting very slight glimpses of things but I can't piece anything together. I don't know if it from the barrier or something bad is happening to the kid."

"I know how to fix everything." Fuji took out his radio. "Shirashi-san, I think it's best if we use that trump card of yours."

There was static on the radio for a second before Shirashi could answer. "I thought we agreed not to unless the situation was dire. We have the upper hand right now and friend and foe alike will most likely get caught up in it."

"Echizen's in trouble and we can't get in contact with him because of some sort of barrier. We need something that would bring that barrier down and right now Kintarou is the only one with the energy to take on something this big and still be able to put up a fight afterword."

"Three minutes." Fuji could hear Kintarou in the background. "You have three minutes to get friendlies out of there."

Fuji tossed the radio and picked up the ones just meant for their squad. "Momo, Eiji, I take it you heard all that right?"

"Ah/Yes." They answered.

"You two need to get our troops out of harm's way as best you can when you see things starting to happen."

"Can do Fuji-san."

"You can count on me."

"Tezuka, be ready."

* * *

Tezuka didn't respond to Fuji's radio call. He had all the information that was needed. Plus right now they had to focus on how to get to Echizen.

"This place is like a maze. How difficult should it be to find another damn door to the labs?" Ryoga was literally steaming. After being separated, he went into a sort of panic, trying whatever he could to somehow get that door down but ultimately had to give up and head back from where they came in hopes of finding another way down.

"Ryoga-san I understand your concern but getting angry won't make it any better." Kawamura said in hopes of trying to calm him. "We'll find Echizen."

"I know it's just- frustrating."

"Thinking back to when the door first separated us; didn't it feel like the ground was moving?" Tezuka asked, to which the other two nodded. "If we retrace our path, we should come to a wall in the middle of a corridor." They agreed and started walking back, taking every turn and going through every hallway until they were separated from Echizen. When they had taken a final turn and expected to see a wall in front of them, they were met with a brand new corridor.

"You're thinking the building changed?" Kawamura asked.

"Not the building itself, the layout of this floor. It's almost as if it could be a giant elevator."

"Wouldn't we feel it if it were moving though?"

"Not unless we had some sort of spell we couldn't detect cast on us." Ryoga understood Tezuka's thought. "So we need to hit the power switch to-" The whole building began to shake and the lights in the room they were in seemed to burst. "Speak of the devil."

"That must be Kintarou." Kawamura said.

"Let's get out of here." Tezuka said as he looked to the ceiling.

* * *

Maybe it was hell, most likely not but Echizen was certain he was close to knowing how hell felt. His whole body felt like it was on fire and his torso was covered in scores from Kren _getting_ blood samples, when in reality he was really just slicing him with a scalpel and none too gently scraping the blood off. The burning feeling might have been his body trying to fight back but as long as he had those shackles around his wrists, he couldn't do anything.

"Hmm, I don't understand." Kren said while swirling a test tube of Echizen's blood. "Echizen-kun, would you explain to me _why I cannot see you're gene?!_ " He threw the tube to floor in a rage. _"You're the one I've prepared this for. You're the one it should absolutely work on and yet you-you, it's like you don't even have an M-Gene!"_

"Wouldn't that be preferable right now." Echizen smirked.

" _What did you do?"_ Kren was fuming.

"Maybe I'm just a really good liar." That remark earned him a slap. Maybe this was what Ava was talking about when she injected him with something, a substance to physically make the gene invisible.

" _I don't have enough blood. That must be it. I just need more blood. Maybe deeper this time for the fresher stuff."_

"You're crazy."

He grabbed the scalpel once more. " _You call it crazy when in reality, its brilliance."_

Echizen desperately tried to break his bindings and fight back but his struggling only made the man in front of him laugh. Before he was able to make contact with Echizen's skin however, there was a loud rumble and all the lights in the room went out. Kren lost his focus and ran to the computers to see if they still worked.

Echizen immediately felt a tug in the back of his mind and knew it was Hiroshi trying to contact him. He quickly sent him a mental image of the room and an overview of what was supposedly happening and what his condition was. Hiroshi informed people were on their way to get him out and Kaidou's scouts would be there momentarily to help him in any way they could. That was all that could be said before Kren regained his composure and returned his attention to Echizen.

"Well, it looks like we're going to have to speed everything up if we want any of this to be a success." His smile was terrifying. He went to a desk and pulled out a pistol. "Now normally I would love to take my time in trying to- further explore and figure out the secrets you held but some are not as open to my methods as others."

"No one would be open to torture." Echizen was subtly eying one of the top corners in the room, seeing small, green mice enter from a crack and run down a pole.

"I do wish there was some way I could find the source of your cocky attitude. I feel like we could've gone far together."

He smirked and shook his head. "Not a chance." The mice had grouped together and formed a very real looking tiger.

Kren turned to see what he was looking at and let out the least masculine scream anyone could imagine and turned his gun to it. "T-This i-isn't real. It's just a trick. Just a trick."

"But can you defeat this little trick in time to save your life?"

This time, Kren was the one to smirk. "The real question is, can it be quick enough to save yours?"

The door to the lab burst open revealing Ryoga, Tezuka, and Kawamura. "Chibisuke!"

"Too late." He fired the gun but oddly enough, it didn't hit Echizen because he was no longer there. The chains were swaying and the bullet had embedded itself in the wall. The room was silent, everyone wondering what happened and where Echizen had gone. " _What did you do?"_ Kren turned the gun to the three at the door.

A banging noise came from one of the computers and drew everyone's attention. A panel on the side flew off in a blaze of flames and Echizen more or less fell out the side of it.

Kren started laughing hysterically. " _I can't believe it. You're even capable of transfiguration. I was prepared for a lot of things but not this- not this at all. It's a shame really; the information on that computer was irreplaceable. I guess it can't be helped."_ He aimed his gun and fired at Echizen again but this time a wall of ice blocked his shot.

"Don't think you can get him that easily." Ryoga said with a smirk. Kren raised the gun to Ryoga but wasn't able to fire because his hand had been frozen. "Tezuka-san, I believe I've apprehended the ring leader in all of this."

Tezuka nodded. "Doctor Kren, from this day forward you will be under Cardinal Jurisdiction. For your own safety I suggest you come quietly."

" _How_ dare _you!"_ He started to bang his hand on a table trying to break the ice. " _I am a professional scientist! I refuse to be treated like this!"_

Tezuka merely shook his head and handed Kawamura his gloves. "Try to make sure you don't break his jaw."

Kawamura slipped his gloves on. "WOAH. DON'T WORRY. I WILL TREAT HIM AS FAIRLY AS HE TREATED ECHIZEN."

" _W-Wait-"_

"I'll take a look at the remaining computers." Tezuka said as he gestured for Ryoga to take care of his brother, both of them ignoring Kren's screams in the background.

"How you doing Chibisuke?" Ryoga asked as he knelt beside his brother, attempting to help him up.

"Just as well as anyone would be doing if they had been cut open and beaten." He winced. "They're not that deep but hurt like hell. What happened to you guys after we got separated?"

Ryoga got gaze from one of their packs and began dressing this wounds. "Don't really know; it was like we were stuck in a loop somehow in one part of the building. As it would've turned out, we were a floor below you in a maze or something. We were able to break through the ceiling and found our way back to where we were first separated. Did he do anything else besides this?"

Echizen shook his head and regretted it. "Not really but you shouldn't listen to the guy who probably has a concussion."

"Yeah, he definitely concussed you. There's no way you would tell someone to _not_ listen to you."

"We'll have Oishi properly look you over when we're out." Tezuka said. "It appears that the computer Echizen- dismantled- was the main one. The others all have fragments of data and codes that most likely went to main files."

"You don't think that they would've made copies of anything?"

"If they did, it's probably all lost because of Kintarou's attack. It looked like he shorted out the entire base but down here, the computers at least were on a different system or generators at least. Echizen do you think you're able to short them out?"

"Not as you w-would have me do it but I can try." Echizen winced as Ryoga helped him stand. The walked over to one of the other computers and Echizen attempted to send a jolt of electricity through it but he ended up forming into pure energy and smashing himself into the wall. He held his stomach and head. "Maybe not."

They were both surprised because they were actually able to glimpse him transform. Ryoga ran over to help him up. "Aren't there other electricity users here Tezuka-san?"

"None besides Kintarou. Normally they become something simple like an engineer or technician. We don't necessarily have to short everything out; it just needs to be inoperable." Tezuka put his hand on his chin. "Kaidou, get some people down here. We have wounded that need taking care of."

He was, of course, talking towards the tiger that was in the corner of the room. "Roger. We've just about cleared things up out here."

"Good. We'll be out shortly."

"ALL RIGHT. LET'S GO CELEBRATE." Kawamura was standing over Kren's bloody and most certainly broken body.

Tezuka couldn't help but face palm. "Pick him up and let's get out of here." He gestured to the body at his feet.

"Okay come on Chibisuke." Ryoga carefully helped his brother up once more and held his waist to help him walk. "Do you even know how you were able to do that?"

"Don't make me think." Echizen held his head in his hands. "Is this what it feels like to be Momo-san, where actually thinking really hurts your head?"

"All right you're not that bad if you can still poke fun at people."

* * *

The four of them, plus a very unconscious Kren, made it outside. They went to where Oishi was and handed Echizen off to him to fully get checked out and see how bad everything really was. Tezuka explained everything that happened to Yukimura who was the only other squad leader at that location and what to expect if he wanted to send in his squad or do a bit of exploring.

Kren was put with the other people that had been captured; a few other scientists but mainly soldiers.

Oishi was panicking over the sight of Echizen's bruising face and pink tinted gaze. Ryoga gave him a more detailed explanation of what his brother told him but that didn't calm Oishi down at all. It only made him yell at everyone who was being loud because Echizen had a concussion and loud noises would make it worse.

Echizen smiled from his cot. Everyone was covered in scratches and dirt but all smiling and laughing. They had finished what the set out to do and taken out one of the main headquarters of the enemy. He looked up to the cloudy sky and felt a few drops on his face. The rain had finally started to fall.

Tezuka reached for his radio. "Seigaku Special Forces Leader Tezuka reporting."

They was static the Ryuzaki's voice came through. "Tezuka, I little longer I would have started to worry. I take it everything went accordingly?"

"THE WINNER IS ME! THE WINNER IS US!" Kawamura kept shouting over and over in the background.

"We beat their asses Ryuzaki-sama! This base is ours!" Momo yelled into the radio from over Tezuka's shoulder. "You should've seen it!"

"Nothing we couldn't handle!"

"I can't believe it!"

"I take it all that cheering as an answer to my question. Ryoma, are you there?" Ryuzaki asked over the radio.

"Yes I'm here." He answered in a strained tone.

"I don't know if it's your gut feeling or the pure dumb luck you inherited from your father but," Everyone could practically hear her smiling on the other end, "the flash drive you sent back not only had the schematics of the base you all just took down but the schematics and coordinates of every other Chargarde Headquarters in the world. Everyone's ecstatic and rushing to make copies of every bit of data that was on it and getting ready to send it to our other branches."

"You're joking right? _That_ was the extra he was talking about?"

"Do you really believe I would joke about something like this? All of you hurry up and come back so we can celebrate." The radio went silent but that didn't seem to matter with the group of people shouting and cheering.

Tezuka smiled. "You heard her! Everyone get this mess cleaned up so we can be on our way!"

"Hear that Chibisuke? Looks like we get to eat Nanako's cooking again." Ryoga stupidly smiled.

The cheering got louder, added by the small booms of thunder, as everyone rallied together. Echizen never really cared for large groups, thinking they were too bombastic and unneeded but throughout the weeks he spent with everyone, through happiness and pain, he figured it was something he might be able to get used to.

* * *

 **Whooooooo that was a ride wasn't it? I hope everyone enjoyed reading as much as I had fun writing.**

 **Oh my god I'm so sorry for the long wait. It's been a busy few months for me; my sister came home from her four year stay in Japan and I've been hanging out and playing video games with her and it really left me drained so I didn't really have any time to think about this. And my internet has been spotty so I've had to worry about that. Also I'm officially Pokemon GO trash so that was also a thing. But all you awesome people who waited for this chapter, you're amazing.**

 **I don't know if I'm going to do another story after this one, I mean not immediately. I'm working on a completely different story that I might be able to work with but eeeeh I'm not too sure right now.**

 **Please forgive spelling and grammar and bad puns and angst and stupidness and corniness and lateness, oh my god lateness and oh my god I'm sorry.**

 **Thank you everyone for sticking with me though this whole thing. I love you.**

 **Hope ya enjoyed it. See ya next time!**


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